360: A Dogtown Story
by Neon.Love.Monkey
Summary: [The Lords of Dogtown] Carmen 'Carma' Clark. The new girl in Dogtown...When moving in beside Sid, does she know what she's getting herself into?...Chapter Twelve is FINALLY up!
1. Moving In

360…A Dogtown Story

Chapter 1: Moving In Dogtown, Santa Monica, 1975ish 

"Carmen, stop dreaming and get out of the car, now." Her mother's angry voice broke her thoughts and the brunette looked up from the back seat, nodding.

"Yes, mom." Carmen Clark muttered, shifting her bag out of the way so she could get out of the small car. When her feet hit the pavement, she winced, realizing she'd left her shoes in the car…again.

"So this is home doll." She closed her eyes as her stepfather cooed to her mother, her giggles fake as they surveyed the large house in front of them. A large estate, Carmen was surprised someone like Ron could afford something like it. "Where are your shoes?"

She ignored her stepfather's leering question as she stared at the cold gray stones covering the house. Her new home…

"I said, where are your shoes. And this?" Her green-gray eyes turned quickly to Ron, her breath stopping when she realized what he was holding. "What was this piece of crap doing in my car?"

"Please…it was Jamie's…" Carmen's quiet voice said and her mother rolled her eyes, taking the old skateboard out of Ron's grasp. Her twin brother Jamie had loved skateboarding with a passion, and she'd just enjoyed taking pictures of him and his friends during a session.

"Throw it out…the brat's gone now. It's nothing but a piece of trash." Her mother's scowl hit her hard and Carmen looked down.

The brat's gone now… 

**It had been a late night…her mother was out again and she was waiting up for her dad and her brother to come back from the pier. To pass time, her camera was being filled with pictures of her dog, Pooka, who was lounging lazily on the couch and amusing her by changing positions every five seconds. **

**Someone drove into the driveway and Carmen jumped up, glancing out the window before running to the door. A cop stood in the doorway and she wanted to slam it shut again. Something had happened with her mother…she'd been caught smoking pot or something…**

"**Excuse me, miss? Is Mrs. Clark home?" Pooka came up behind her, his wet nose brushing her leg and she bent down, picking the small mutt up in her hands. **

"No, she isn't." Carmen said simply, her face coming into contact with misty droplets of rainwater. "Why what's wrong?" The built man's face softened and Pooka squirmed in her hands.

"**There was a car accident…"**

"You get in the house, now." Carmen was pulled back from that night and to reality as her mother scowled at her again. "And bring the mutt with you…the maid will get your stuff."

"Maid?" Her question made her mother laugh, but didn't stop her from walking into the house. The clay wheels of the skateboard hit the street as it was thrown lazily to the ground, making Carmen's stomach clench. "No!"

It took speed down the street and she tried running after it, her bare feet slapping against the paved ground, a stinging sensation filling them quickly.

"I'll get it." The roaring of wheels soared past her and she stepped back as a boy with long, chocolate brown hair zoomed past her, chasing the rogue skateboard. Within seconds he'd landed in front of it, using his foot as a block to stop it. _A skateboarder? In this town? _"Here you go."

"Thanks." Carmen rubbed her thumb against the sandy top of the board, smiling. The boy's big brown eyes sparkled when he smiled at her and she smiled back, clutching the skateboard.

"Do you skate?" He asked her and she shook her hair, her long straight brown hair hitting her shoulders bare shoulders, something her white halter-top was not covering.

"No…it was my brother, Jamie's." The kindly boy nodded, looking at the car. "I'm Carmen Clark."

"I'm Sid, I live next door." Sid smiled at her, his gaze still on the car. "You're…new."

"Yes." Carmen laughed, turning to look at the car. Three maids were unloading luggage, and one of them dropped the carrier that Pooka was in. "Oh, Pooka!"

"What's a Pooka?" A smile came on her lips again and she pulled the small brown mutt out of the carrier bag.

"This is a Pooka." She held the mutt forward, laughing when it licked Sid's hand. "He's very friendly, I've had him for about-"

"Carmen! Get in here!" Her mother's voice echoed from the house and Carmen bit her lip, looking back at it. She'd just made a friend and she had to leave.

"I…I'm sorry, Sid. I'll talk to you later?" He kicked his skateboard down to the ground again and nodding, jumping on it.

"See you Carma!" Carmen smiled as Sid skateboarded crazily up the street, turning.

……

"So this is home, Pooka." The large room contained her bed with new sheets, a desk and a few bookshelves, leaving room for camera's, rolls of film and developed pictures. "Home."

The word seemed to stick in her mouth like peanut butter, not wanting to wash away. It still didn't feel right, going from a comfortable bungalow to a large estate. A knock sounded on her door and she fell back on her bed, letting Pooka run free.

"Carmen?" Her mother called and she turned over on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"Come in." She sighed and the door handle clicked as it turned, her petite mother sneaking in behind the door. Carmen sat up, coming face to face with her mother's blue eyes, the only part of her mother that didn't look exactly like she did. Long, straight brown hair, petite frame and a quick wit, she was definitely her mother's daughter.

"Hunny." Her green-gray eyes rolled around and she shook her head. Her mother was only like this when she wanted something…that's the way she'd acted when she'd announced she was getting married the day after her brother and her father's funeral and the day she'd told Carmen they were moving.

"Yes, mom?" She asked and she heard the click of her tongue with her answer.

"You don't have to take that tone with me, Carmen." Carmen sat up, looking at her mother with pleading eyes.

"What?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for taking this risk with me." She nodded, sighing. "It's a nice house…Ron's parents."

"Cool." A stone hit the window and both their heads snapped towards it. Carmen wasn't sure, but she could've sworn she'd heard an _ow _sound from outside her window.

"What was that?" Her mother started to make her way towards the window, but fearing it was Sid or someone else, she stopped her.

"I don't know. Probably a bird or something…one hit it earlier." Sonya turned around in suspicion, but nodded.

"Fine." Her mother scoffed, her temper hitting back in as she made her way to the door. "I don't expect you're hungry." Carmen shook her head, ignoring her grumbling stomach. "Good…me and Ron are going out for dinner with his parents…we won't be home for a while."

"I can watch myself." Carmen said and Sonya nodded, walking out the door. "Ciao."

"Ciao!" As soon as the doorknob clicked again and the footsteps faded away, she made her way to the window, opening the lock and peering out.

"Carma!" Carmen's eyes shifted down to the ground and saw Sid preparing to throw another rock at the window. "Hey man!"

"Sid!" Her smile shone through and her pale ivory skin glowed. "Hey!"

"Are you busy?" She shook her head and he nodded, his skateboard slung under his arm. "Come out with me!"

She knew her mother wasn't gone yet, and it was a long way down to the ground from her window, posing a potential problem. Leaning further out the window, she shrugged.

"I don't know how to get down!" She called and Sid laughed, setting his skateboard down and getting to the drainpipe. "Sid! What are you doing? Sid…"

"I'm coming to get you!" Before Carmen knew it, the brown locked boy was standing in front of her, his face smiling. "Don't worry dude. I've climbed my drainpipe tons of times." He held his hand out for her and she smiled at him, taking it. "Come on."

……

Cigarette smoke blew out of his mouth and Skip looked around the lingering Z-boys, the one he was looking for in particular being invisible. Straightening up in his seat, he stamped out his cigarette, huffing out the rest of the smoke.

"Sid! Where's that little maggot…" He growled and the doorbell opened as Sid walked in, a girl with long brown hair walking timidly behind him. "Sid! There you are. The windows need washing."

"Yes sir." Sid nodded and he turned to the girl, smiling. "This is the Zephyr Surf Shop, Carma. Make yourself at home…no one will bite."

"That hard." Shogo Kubo chimed in from beside her, his Asian face smiling. She smiled meekly back at him, looking around the shop with interest. Skip straightened up in his chair, walking back from behind the counter and jumping up on the top.

"Who's your friend, maggot?" The brunette turned her head when Skip addressed Sid, though he was staring at her. Tony's head appeared from behind a rack of surfboards and he eyed the girl with interest as the rest of the Z-boys gathered around. Sid, who had returned from getting the window washing equipment, smiled.

"Carma Clark. She just moved here today…new next door neighbor." Sid said, walking up to the first window and dunking the cloth in the soapy water, taking it out and beginning to wash the windows.

"Circular motions Sid!" Skip growled, turning his eyes back to Carmen. "You skate kid?"

"Um…" The doorbell jingled again and a tall, blue eyed boy with long blonde hair walked in, shoving something in his pocket quickly.

"Stacy!" Tony shouted from behind the surfboards, making the girl jump. "Dude, you're late!"

"I was working." Stacy mumbled, shaking his head before his eyes fell on Carma. "Oh…"

"Stacy, meet Carma. Carma, meet Stacy." Sid introduced while washing the windows and Carma pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear, smiling lightly.

"Hi." She smiled politely at Stacy, nodding. Skip, tired of the prospect that an unofficial Z-boy or groupie was browsing the shop, walked up to her, shaking his head. Skip leaned forward, his hands at his side sluggishly.

"Point is man, browsing costs money. But, if you promise to leave in the next five minutes, I'll cut you a deal." He'd scared her, he could see it in her green-gray eyes. She looked down at the floor, only glancing back up at him. A snigger of laughter was heard throughout the room and Carma gently scratched the back of her neck, not bothering to look at anyone.

"Leave her alone, Skip." Stacy sighed and the girl looked up at him, shaking her head lightly.

"I think I'll just leave now, Sid." Carma said, making to walk out of the surf shop. "Nice meeting you all." She turned around and walked past Stacy, whose eyes had been glued to her ever since he walked in and waved to Sid.

"Carma…" The doorbell jingled and she walked right into Jay Adams, who took one look at her before capturing Carma in his arms.

"Hey, hey, hey doll, no reason to be leaving just yet." Jay laughed, coming up close to her face as he held her in his arms. "We haven't been properly introduced." Her green-gray eyes flashed away from him and Stacy sighed, shaking his head while the rest of them sniggered.

"Dude, that's Carma." Sid nodded from the window and Carma turned to Jay. "Carma, that's Jay."

"Carma…" Jay sighed, brushing a hand against her face and she shook her head, pushing him away and walking quickly out the door.

……

Carmen walked quickly down the street, looking around in frustration. Of course she'd been stupid enough to leave without Sid…now she had no idea how to get home.

"Great." She muttered, her straight brown hair blowing behind her shoulders as a gently breeze licked the streets. "With all luck, I'll run into mom and Ron." As she stood on the street beside a gnarly looking diner, a steel move colored car pulled up on the curb beside her and her head snapped towards it, peering at the people inside it.

Sid leaned across Stacy, the driver, to talk to her through the open window.

"Can't find your way home, huh Carma girl?" He asked and she shook her head, smiling lightly. The hot sun hit her hard and she hoped she would find shade soon…or at least somewhere that was air-conditioned. "What's your rush?"

"I'm scared my mom will come back to find I'm gone." She turned to face them, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly. "I snuck out, remember?"

"Yeah." Sid laughed, nudging Stacy to follow her as she began walking again. "But they probably won't be home for a while, right?"

"Right." Carmen nodded, walking slowly after realizing Stacy was following her in the car.

"We're just heading out to try these new urethane board wheels. Why don't you come with?" Sid's suggestion was tempting…tempting enough to make her stop in her tracks. Jay's head came out of the back window and Carmen stared hesitantly at him. The stunt he'd pulled in the Zephyr shop had violated her privacy and challenged her.

"Come on, baby. We'll have fun." He said and she scowled continuing to walk. Tony, the Mexican boy with frizzy gold hair, leaned past Jay, elbowing him in the stomach.

"And we'll protect you from this scum." Tony laughed and Jay shoved him back to his seat, wearing a scowl that rivaled Carma's.

"Come on, Carma girl. It'll give you a chance to get to know us Z-boys." Sid tempted and Stacy stopped the car, turning his baby blue eyes on her.

"Please?"

Carmen smiled, shrugging and running quickly around the car, opening the passenger seat door and sliding in with Sid, not daring to get near Jay again. The z-boys howled and Stacy started the car again, pulling out into the street.


	2. Poolside Envy

Chapter 2: Poolside Envy Venice, Santa Monica, California, 1975   
"So, remind me where we're going?" Sid looked over at Carma, smiling at his new friend. She was pretty much sitting on his lap, the middle passenger seat not big enough for her to sit in, but he didn't mind the squishiness. Jay had pulled an awfully bold stunt at the surf shop…especially for someone he'd just met. 

"Um…care to tell us that man?" He turned to look at Tony, whose head was halfway out the window. He was the one who knew where they were going…the urethane wheels would not wait for hours on end. "T.A?"

"Turn left here, Stace." Tony leaned forward, jabbing his hand in the direction of where they were going. Smiling, he recoiled back to his seat, nudging an annoyed looking Jay. "A 24 hour wave man."

"Dude!" Sid laughed, turning back to Carma as the car came to a halt. "This is going to be so awesome!" A cheer of agreement came from around the car and Stacy shushed them, looking around the neighborhood quickly.

……

"So, how are we getting into this place?" Jay smiled as Tony took out a set of keys, a silent laugh breaking through him. Leave it to Tony to find a pool and steal the keys for the back gate.

"Dude!" Sid ran ahead of him, Stacy following and Jay turned to Carma, a grin widespread on his face.

"Any idea where we're going?" He asked her and she shook her head, trying to get past him. Gliding to the side, Jay stopped her and smiled again. "A pool."

"A pool? But there's a drought…none of them will be filled." His eyebrows raised and he crossed his arms, still standing in front of Carma. For someone who just moved to Venice, she sure did know a lot about it.

"Now, how'd you know that?" She just smirked at him and looked behind his shoulder, not attempting to get past him any more. "We're not here to go swimming." Jay reached forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him. "We're here to skate."

Tony slid along the walls of the pool, his skateboard tucked neatly under his feet as he made to reach the tiled edge. But as he reached the top, the urethane wheels he wasn't used to turned at the wrong moment, making him fall flat on his back.

Carmen gasped, releasing Jay's hand and running to the edge of the pool as the Mexican boy fell to the dried out bottom, covering his head in pain.

"Tony?" She asked, her pretty face full in worry. "Are you okay?" Sid turned around to face her, chuckling quickly.

"T.A's fine…this isn't the first time it's happened, man." The boy extended a hand to Carma, helping her down. "Urethane is righteous man! It grips like nothing!"

"I agree." said Tony, who'd just gotten up from the pool ground. "It's like riding a wave."

Jay wasted no time in jumping on his skateboard and making a daring jump off the pool deck, hitting the bottom and swerving dangerously, riding the sides with ease.

"It is like a wave!"

……

With in no time the Z-boys had begun to take turns riding the pool, sometimes daring two at a time. Carma had entertained herself by sitting on the steps of the pool, watching them with interest. _Jamie would've loved this…_

"Hey." She smiled as she saw Stacy standing in front of her, a timid but confident look on his face. "Mind if I sit?"

"Oh," Carma said, moving over on the steps. "Not at all." He smiled at her, his long blonde hair swaying as he sat down, brushing it behind his ears. "You guys are talented."

"Thanks." Stacy grinned, looking over at her. "So you don't skate, but you seem fascinated with it." She felt a lump in her throat as she thought of her twin and his skateboard now sitting in her room on a shelf.

"My twin brother used to skate." Carma glanced at Stacy, shivering at his compassionate blue eyes. "He was my best friend…I'd tag along with him and his friends, and sometimes I'd take pictures of them skating. He seemed to be on of the only kids in our neighborhood that liked that…and surfing."

"Awesome." Stacy grinned and she only meekly smiled back at him. "Did he move here with you?" A wind rustled through the tree branches and clashed with the roar of the urethane wheels riding the gnarly poolside.

"No." She sighed, her long brown hair whipping behind her shoulders. "He and my dad went out for a surfing session on the cove late one night. It was windy and raining, but Jamie wanted to go so bad, and my dad was terrible with begging. I finishing writing a report for school, so I had to stay home." He stiffened beside her and she wished he'd be more lively and clueless like Jay, not knowing where the story was going. "The roads were bad coming from the cove…it was around eleven when the cop came to the door."

"I'm sorry." Stacy said quietly and Carma shrugged off tears, staring at the empty blue pool as Sid made to ride one of the walls.

"It's not your fault…and everything happens for a reason." She felt the soft touch of a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Stacy's hand there, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb. "Thanks."

He made to say 'you're welcome', but sirens went off and Jay landed in front of them, his skateboard scraping the bottom of the pool.

"Bail time." Jay grinned and Sid ran to Carma's side, smiling at her. "Let's go." Tony was already at the gate and pushed it open, shoving the cop that was hastily making his way down the pathway.

"Hey!" He growled, but Tony just laughed, Stacy pushing past him again as Sid followed him. The round old man blocked the doorway and Jay turned to Carma, who had been to stunned to move, grabbing her hand and running to the other side of the house.

"After you." Jay laughed, pointing towards the fence and she frowned at him before making her way up.

"You kids get back here!" Sticking his tongue out at the cop, the Z-boy jumped the fence in a shot, landing in front of Carma.

"Come on, girl!" The cop waddled towards the fence and she tried to jump over, her shoe's material catching in the fence.

"Dudes! Split!" Sid's shout came from the front of Stacy's car and Jay grabbed her waist, pulling her over the fence and leaving her with only one shoe on.

"Kick the other one off and run!" He shouted at her and Carma did as told, grabbing his hand as they continued running down the pavement path. "In!"

Tony had opened the back seat window for them and the brunette climbed quickly in first, panting as Jay hopped in, shutting the door. Stacy's foot hit the gas and they sped down the street, panting and laughing at the same time.

"Dudes, that was too damn close." Tony sniggered and Carma's head landed on his shoulder, a smile on her face.

"But we still got away." She breathed and Tony nodded, sliding an arm around her shoulders as she lay on his shoulder, too tired to really even care. "Where to next?"

"I've got work." Stacy sighed, glancing back at her from the rearview mirror.

"I've got to meet Blanca." Tony said, looking down at Carma, who nodded. "Girlfriend."

"I got that." She smiled and he grinned back. Jay watched them, a scowl planted on his face. Her eyes traveled to Sid and he shrugged, frowning.

"I've got dinner with my folks tonight." Carma turned to Jay and nudged him with her bare foot, looking at him.

"What about you Jay?" she asked and he crossed his arms, cocking his head to the side.

"Promised my mom I'd come have dinner with her…step-dad's working late again." Jay said, smiling at her. "Why…did you have something in mind?" His smirk was making her uncomfortable and Tony shook his head, kicking his leg.

"Shove off." He mumbled and Jay rolled his eyes, glaring out the window as Stacy pulled to a stop in front of the Venice Noodle Company. As soon as the keys were out of the ignition, the Z-boys and Carma pilled out of the car, Jay climbing through the window and making a run towards his down-the-street apartment, throwing his skateboard to the ground and jumping on it.

"Later dudes!" He called, not even glancing behind him and Carma watched Jay's back disappear behind the hill, her green-gray eyes softened slightly.

"Carma girl, do you want me to walk you home?" She turned around to face Sid, smiling. Tony had left as well, and Stacy was making his way into the Venice Noodle Company for his shift at work. Shrugging and walking over to her friend, she fumbled with the purse she'd draped over her shoulder, carrying her weekly allowance from Ron in it. Or as she thought of it, her payment to stay in the family…

"No thanks Sid. I think I'll browse around the shops for a bit…then I'll see if I can find my way back home." Sid nodded, nudging her arm with his hand.

"Alright man, but don't forget Peralta will give you a ride home if you need it." He began to walk backwards, waving with his hand held high in the air. "See you around, Carma."

"Bye." She waved to him and watched as he turned around, flipping his skateboard around in his hands. Before she knew what she was really doing, Carmen ran towards him, her bare feet slapping against the sidewalk. "Sid!"

"Yeah?" Seeing as he'd stopped, Carma slowed her run down to a walk, her feet stinging with each step.

"Thanks." She sighed, wrapping her arms around the skinny boy. He seemed to be shocked, but a moment later he wrapped his own arms around her middle, smiling.

"No problem girl." Sid said, tugging on a piece of her long hair. Carma giggled, jumping back and he winked at her. "I've got to get moving…dad wants me home."

"Bye." And with that, Sid swerved around the corner on his skateboard, arms flailing wildly in the air.

……

Stacy looked up as the doorbell jingled, his hand that was slowly wiping the counter down stopping suddenly. It had been a long shift, four hours of hard diner work floating over him like a dark cloud. He'd be off in half an hour…

Carma walked into the shop, her movements timid and shy, and he caught himself smiling at her presence, a knot forming in his stomach. The girl had seemingly shaken his world, her aura not anything like the usual Dogtown girl spirit.

"Peralta!" His boss yelled from the back and the name made Carma turn to face him, a smile breaking onto her face when she caught his eye. "Here, now!"

She waved and Stacy smiled, turning around and walking into the back. His boss, Mr. Blanks, frowned at him, pointing to a mess of water on the floor. A tipped over pot lay on the counter and one of his co-workers, Brad, finished slopping the flood of cream colored noodles into another pot.

"Brad managed to save some of the noodles…but for the rest of the shift, I want you on stove duty." Stacy shook his, head, looking quickly behind him before pointing at the cash.

"But-"

"And clean up this mess." His blue eyes looked down at the pool of water on the floor as the man scurried past him, quickly taking care of the cash problem himself.

"Great."

……

"Carma, hey." She looked up from the book she'd bought and smiled at Stacy. She'd been sitting at one of the small booths in the Venice Noodle Company, waiting for Stacy to finish his shift. After making a few wrong turns and being forced to retrace her steps and look for the restaurant, Carmen had decided to take Sid up on his offer.

Peralta will drive you… 

"Hey Stacy." She smiled, closing the mystery novel she'd bought to entertain herself. "Could I get a ride home?" He seemed surprised, but nodded, turning to the counter.

"Definitely. Just let me punch out." Carma nodded, sliding out of the booth as Stacy made his way to the counter. Gathering her book in her hands, she waited patiently for him before they made their way out to the lot, stopping in front of the car they'd both left only hours ago.


	3. Favorite Door

Chapter 3: Favorite Door 

Stacy pulled the car up in front of Carma's house, hearing a sigh of relief as she stared up the long driveway. The manor was large and elegant looking, much like Sid's, and the only thing separating the two houses was a long line of trees and ten feet of emerald green grass on either side of the line.

'Thanks for the ride home, Stacy.' She sighed, setting her hand on the door handle. 'I probably would have wound up on the other side of town.' Stacy smiled at her, shrugging at the comment.

'Anytime. Just give me a call…' He picked up a Zephyr surf shop poster Skip had been urging him to post at the VNC and a pen sitting on the dashboard. Smoothing out the slight wrinkles on the page, he scrawled down his phone number, along with Tony's, Sid's and Jay's, and handed the paper to her. 'And I'll come pick you up. If I'm not home, just try these numbers or Sid's place and I should turn up somewhere.'

'Thanks.' Carma said again, smiling a bit uncertainly.

'It's just that a girl like you can't hold her own in Dogtown…not with all the tough crowds around.' He explained and she nodded, clutching her purse and a book in her hand. Stacy's eyes caught hers and for a moment, he felt a fleeting sensation deep in the pit of his stomach, a wave of goosebumps washing over him. 'I'll see you around then?'

'Definitely.' She said, hesitating before reaching over and hugging him. He was surprised, but by instinct he hugged her back quickly, setting his hand on her back and shoulder gently. 'I should go…my mum and Ron could be home anytime…'

Carma smiled at him again, her green-gray eyes shining. 'Thanks again Stacy.' But this time he didn't say anything…this time he just nodded and watched her leave, shutting the door gently behind her and running quickly up the driveway.

……

'Carma?' Her mother's yell startled her as she clutched the side of the house, reaching forward to open the window.

'Oh, damn.' She cursed, sliding open the small window and bending down to climb in, falling forward and stumbling over on the floor. Pooka came to greet her excitedly, jumping up at her knees and Carma smiled at the dog while scooping him up in her free arm.

'Carmen?' Ron's voice came next as she threw her purse and book on her bed, kicking off her shoes. Glancing quickly at the clock she realized it was close to nine p.m., a time when her mother would expect her to be in her pajamas already. Running over to her dresser, which the maid had seemingly slid some of her clothes items in, she pulled off her capris and halter top and grabbed a pair of baggy sweat pants and a tank top, quickly and successfully changing before…

'Carmen?' The soft knock and fake tone of her mother's sweet voice came just as she finished throwing her clothes into the hamper sitting by the door. 'Carmen dear? Are you sleeping?'

She paused for a minute and pondered not answering…but then realizing her mom would probably walk in and check if she was actually sleeping.

'No mom.' Carmen sighed, walking over to the door and opening it slowly. 'How was dinner?'

'Excellent.' Sonya glanced up at Ron admiringly and in a way that threatened to make Carmen sick. 'Ron's parents are absolutely charming!'

'And they'd love to meet you, Carmen.' He observed what she was wearing and Carmen could've sworn she saw a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. 'Oh…it seems you aren't properly dressed for the occasion.'

'Oh dear.' She bit her tongue as her mother saw her baggy sweat pants and tank. 'That certainly isn't appropriate…Ronnie! Why don't we have your parents over for dinner? That is once we've moved in.'

'Great idea.' Their perfect conversation was making her shy and uncomfortable, not used to her mother or Ron acting as though they were the perfect couple and she was their perfect, undressed daughter. 'But I'm afraid that won't be for a while. They're going on a bit of a vacation…we could have them over when they return in 3 weeks time.'

'That sounds really nice.' Carmen interjected her mother before she could reply with the perfect round off. 'It's getting really late though…I think I'm going to head to bed now. I'm glad you two enjoyed your evening…good night.' The stunned looks on their faces eased her raging nerves and she smiled lightly, not daring to look her mother in the eye.

'Oh…um…well then. Goodnight dearest.' Ron smiled and patted her head with no trace of awkwardness and her mother stiffly pecked her cheek. Soon, they'd retreated back downstairs, leaving Carmen to shut the door and slide down it, frowning.

The single yellow piece of paper lying on her bed made her stand up quickly, flipping to the back and reading the numbers. Sid's number was the third one down…Stacy had hastily written each owners name over the number to clarify…and she walked over to the phone sitting daintily on her desk, picking up the receiver and dialing the number.

A woman answered and Carmen took a deep breath before replying.

'Hello? Hi…could I please speak to Sid?' Only a minute later, Sid was on the phone, the question in his voice standing out clearly.

'This is Sid…what's up?' She smiled before plunging into her first words.

'Sid? It's Carma.'

……

The morning sun shone through her two windows, and Carmen flipped the page of her book. Its intense mystery was making her grip the pages and she had only put it down last night because tiredness had overcome her in a large dose.

Two soft knocks rapped the on the window and she smiled, jumping off her bed and lifting the window. Sid's pale face appeared in front of it, followed by Stacy and Jay.

'Stacy? Jay? You guys are here too?' Carma asked, looking behind her as footsteps sounded on the stairs. Sid followed her gaze and nudged her arm, making her look back at him.

'Stacy brought his car around…it's parked at my house in the drive way…'

'Carmen?' Ron's voice came from outside her bedroom door and her eyes widened, her hands making to shut the window quickly. 'Carmen, are you in there?'

'Come as soon as possible girl!' Sid finished as Carmen slammed the window shut as Ron opened the door to her room, walking in.

'Oh good, you're up.' He smiled brightly at her and she turned around from the window, walking two steps away from it and sitting on her bed.

'Yeah, I'm up.' Carmen sighed, smiling lightly. Her face was expectant of something and she wondered if he'd gotten the hint that she was late for breakfast every morning after the past month and a half of living with her in the large Ron and Sonya Gilmore manor.

'I just came to see if you were coming down to breakfast.'

'I already ate.' Carmen tried to stop herself from lying, but it came out in a split second, not missing a beat after Ron's question. His face seemed to deflate and she smiled sadly. 'Sorry…I just was hungry, so I went down earlier.'

'Oh.' He said and she knew he was taking the bait. 'Okay. Well then, we'll see you at dinner tonight? With my parents?' The mention of dinner shocked her and she frowned, trying to remember when her mother had told her about it. 'Did Sonya not tell you?'

'I don't remember her telling me…' She said quietly, trailing off and sending a longing glance towards the window. She'd give anything to be shimming down the drainpipe with Jay, Stacy and Sid, running into Stacy's car and heading off to the beach. Unfortunately, she had the pleasure of sitting in her room, with Ron and being told she was to have dinner with the two Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore's.

'Well…now you know.' Ron smiled at her before walking out of the room, leaving her to sit and think about the dinner her mother would've sprung on her as Ron's parents rung the doorbell.

……

'Carma girl, there you are.' Sid sighed in relief when Carmen came running into view, her long brown hair flying behind her shoulders as she skidded to a halt in front of them. Ten minutes had past since they'd gathered around Stacy's car after being abruptly shunned from Carmen's room. Ten minutes they'd waited. 'Where've you been?'

'Ron came…told me about dinner Friday night with the Gilmore's.' Her attitude was fiery and Sid laid an arm around her shoulders, sighing. 'I can't stand it anymore.'

'Calm down, man.' He said, steering her into the back seat of the car. 'The pier will make you forget about everything.'

'Sid's right, Carma girl.' Jay hopped through the window and landed in the seat beside her, grinning recklessly. 'After a few minutes of looking at the haunted fairgrounds and us surfing and almost killing ourselves when we fall off, you'll feel so much better.'

Carmen grinned at him and Sid caught her glance in the mirror. After 6 weeks of knowing each other, Jay and Carma had learned to get along and be friends. Something everyone who had heard their bickering (usually over something Jay did or said) was thankful for.

'You guys are crazy man.' She laughed, leaning her head against the glass of the car window. Jay laughed, kicking her foot while she tried to move his.

'You're the one hanging out with us, baby.' He muttered and Stacy rolled his blue eyes, turning around the corner and hitting the Dogtown area. 'Stacy, pull up at the Z shop, will you? We can skate down to P.O Pier.'

'And what about Carma?' The reply came so quickly, it almost shocked Jay and Sid sent a suspicious look towards Stacy. He had been about to say the same thing. 'She can't exactly skate.'

'She can ride on someone's back, dude, it's no a big deal.' Sid offered and Jay nodded, nudging Carma's leg. He'd never felt this way about anyone before…unlike other girls, he didn't want to jump into her pants right away. He didn't want to feel her up then forget about her the next morning. Unlike other girls, he really did want her. 'Stacy's the tallest, meaning he gets the burden.'

'Oh, thanks Sid.' Carmen laughed sarcastically. 'I enjoy being the load that you carry around everywhere with you.' A round of laughter was heard from around the car and Stacy parked in the tight parking spot in front of the banana yellow Zephyr Surf Shop.

'A very righteous load, dude. Take no offense.' Sid said reassuringly as he got out of the front seat, allowing Jay to push the seat forward and climb out of the back, extending a hand to help Carmen out as well.

'Whatever you say.' A slight gasp of laughter came from the girl as he took Jay's hand, allowing him to help her out. He'd pulled her close to him, resting the side of his face on hers and slithering his arm around her waist. 'Jay…'

Carmen's voice was quiet and she trailed off, refusing to look anyone in the eye as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Stacy, who had been getting out of the car, stood up and turned around, freezing on the spot. His crystal blue eyes traveled over them, a flame flaring in his soul and stiffness covering his features. The car door slammed and Stacy took off down the street, his skateboard tight in his grasp.

'Dude? Where are you going?' He just waved off Sid's question and continued down the road to the Pier. Carmen broke away from Jay, turning to he and Sid, shrugging before taking off after Stacy.

'Damn it…' Sid's eyes turned to Jay quickly as he cursed, kicking the tire of Stacy's car and throwing his skateboard down on the road. A sudden sense of weakness sprang on Sid, but not wanting to let it show, he straightened up, watching Jay's temper tantrum.

……

'Stacy!' He turned around, coming face to face to who he knew it was. 'What was that?'

'What was what?' Stacy spat, frowning as Carmen stopped in front of him, her small frame clashing slightly with his tall, sturdy build. His question didn't fool her and she glanced back at the smaller picture of the Zephyr Surf Shop.

'Back there? When you got out of the car and just stormed off like that?' Carmen said firmly, her gray-green eyes flicking back to the shop. Stacy looked away from her, staring out at the grungy paradise that was Dogtown, when her fingertips brushed across his cheek, making his insides quiver with an incredible sense of nervousness. 'Stacy…'

'Don't get involved with Jay.' He couldn't stop saying it, but when he had, Stacy couldn't stop from saying everything else. 'He took Kathy away from me…he's always messing around with girls…he's just not the guy to get involved with.'

By the time he'd finished ratting out on Jay, her hands had found his and she was staring up at him, a smile lightly on her face.

'He was just kidding around Stace,' Carmen shrugged, her voice low and breathy. 'Jay doesn't mean anything of it…you know that. I know that.' Stacy rubbed his thumb along her hand and nodded, trying to grin down at her. 'Thanks Stacy.'

Her words slightly shocked him and he raised his eyebrows, reluctantly releasing her hands and shoving his own in his pant pockets. She looked really good…the sun had given her a healthy glow and her hair wasn't just brown anymore, but a series of natural blonde highlights had combed through her hair.

'For what?' He asked and she shrugged, running a hand through her hair again.

'Just being kind to me, I guess. And for being there…if it wasn't for you man, I wouldn't have everyone's phone numbers.' A grin spread its way across her face and she stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and squeezing him in a hug. Stacy hugged her back, his chin brushing the top of her head as the thick morning sun beat down on them.

……

'Dude, I am so beat.' Carmen smiled as Sid crashed down on the sand beside her, rubbing his pale face and grinning wholeheartedly at her. She'd noticed the one thing you could count on Sid to do was to give you a smile that you knew meant something. After the past few weeks of living beside him as neighbors, a deep friendship had formed and the two had become best friends.

'You were really good.' She said, setting the camera she held in her hands down on her lap, still smiling lightly at him. Sid yawned, stretching back and laying down on the sand, rubbing his eyelids. 'Sid?'

'Huh?'

'Are you okay?' The comment made him sit up again, white sand sticking to his back and hair. A confused look crossed on his face, his brown eyes squinting from the sun that was momentarily peaking out from behind the clouds. The drought was getting worse and each day would bring another wave of heat to Santa Monica.

'Yeah…' He paused for just a moment, but that moment was long enough to rise suspicions prowling on the shores of her mind. It was hard not to notice Sid's frailness in skating, his quiet voice and his weakness get stronger, just as the heat did everyday with the drought. 'The heat's just getting to me…I think I might have stroke or whatever you call it.'

'Heat stroke?' Carmen laughed and he pointed at her, smiling.

'That's the one.' Sid fell back on the sand again and grinned, nudging her with his foot as her camera clicked, taking another picture. 'I made a funny.'

'You're such an idiot.' She giggled as another snapshot rang in the air and Sid propped himself up on his elbows, squinting at her.

'Taking more pictures of the pier?' Carmen nodded, peering into the camera lens and posing the camera in a different angle. He sat up again, resting his chin on her shoulder as he tried to see what she saw in the shadows of ruins that were once an elaborate amusement park. 'What do you see?'

It took her a while to answer, but when she had, it was carefully strung out, as if she'd spent her whole life pondering the question.

'I see…beauty. I see the ghosts of children and their parents, of couples strolling around the merry go round and kissing in the Ferris Wheel. Then I see the ruins…haunting and mesmerizing at the same time.'

'Dude,' Sid sighed, shaking his head. 'You think way too much for a chick.'

……

'Oh! Carmen! You're absolutely gorgeous! Just like your mother.'

She tried to smile at Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore senior, and Carmen knew her fake smile too well to know it did the job perfectly. After she'd gotten home, she'd showered and changed into the dress her mother had told her to wear (the maid, Anita, had been left with a message). When she'd applied the makeup, the guest were already here and greeting her mother and Ron in the 'grand entrance'.

'Thank you, Mrs. Gilmore.' Carmen smiled as she hugged the elderly lady. Mrs. Gilmore was a petite old woman with Ron's eyes and smile, her willowy clothes draping over her body in excellence.

'Oh please dear, call me Emily. And you can call him Frank.' Emily said, still grasping Carmen's hands. Frank, however, looked the exact opposite of Emily. With a hard, crisp, suit covering his body, Frank's dark gray hair matched perfectly with his tie, smoky gray eyes shining sternly down at her, his smile forced.

'It's nice to meet you, Carmen. Ron and Sonya have talked about you so much.'

_Sure they have. _Carmen thought, nodding towards the elderly man. _And I'm in love with Jay Adams._

Dinner was soon served, as Anita came bustling out into the room, grinning at the Gilmore family and winking at Carmen.

'Oh, Rosa's made the most excellent assortment of salads and roast beast…' Her mother's voice trailed away as the couples walked into the dining room. Carmen would have joined them as well, if it weren't for Anita's swift hand motion.

'What is it?' She asked and the young Latino girl smiled at her, her dark brown eyes smiling.

'Party. Tonight at Tony's. I'm going as soon as my break's off, but Tony said to call Stacy if you need a ride…' Anita smiled, grabbing her hand. 'Try and sneak out, alright? Tell them you're going over to Sid's house to play chess or something…you know your mother adores him.'

Anita was perfectly correct. The Gilmores and Carmen had dined twice at Sid's parents house, and every time Sonya had come out complementing what a wonderful boy Sid was and how lucky they were to have his family as neighbors.

'Will do.' Carmen whispered before her mother's shrill voice broke through the spacious hall.

'Carmen!' Anita giggled excitedly and Carmen nodded, releasing her hand and grinning, walking quickly into the dinning room.

……

It was almost seven o'clock when Carmen pushed her chair back, looking to her mother and Ron. They had (as she had guessed) completely forgotten about her in the corner, and she was starting to feel queasy from the cologne Frank was wearing.

'Mother?' She asked, her voice full of innocence. 'May I please be excused? I promised Sid I'd come over tonight to play chess and go for a walk.'

At the mention of Sid, her mother's face lit up and she nodded, smiling.

'I suppose so. Stay as long as you'd like, dear. But please, change out of your dress clothes before you go? I'd hate to see them torn or dirty.' Sonya said, her voice rich in cheap sweetness. Carmen laughed mentally, picturing what her mother would look like if she found out Sid was at a party getting stoned and hanging out with Dogtown's best.

'Thank you. Emily, Frank, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'll be seeing you later, I presume?' She waited for the nod before tearing out of the dining room, skipping up the stairs to her room and pulling off her cocktail dress, finding a simple tank top, sweatshirt and jeans to wear.

'Stacy?' Carmen asked after she'd dialed his number. 'It's Carma…want to go to Tony's party tonight?'


	4. At the Water's Edge

Chapter 4: At the Water's Edge 

'Are you sure you want to go in?' Stacy asked as the music boomed from Tony's overcrowded house. Carmen turned to him, nodding. Getting out of the house had been easier than she'd thought, and Stacy had been, as promised, waiting outside in his car at the end of the driveway.

'Yeah, I'm sure.' She bit the bottom of her lip, trying to read the look that was currently on his face. 'I just want to say hi to Sid and all the guys…if I change my mind, I'll find you and we can leave, okay?'

His blue eyes carried a certain look of protectiveness, but he still nodded, pulling his keys out of the ignition and opening his door. Carmen did the same, opening hers and coming face to face with…

'Jay!' She shrieked as he jumped out at her, grinning crazily. Stacy glared and recognized the presence of alcohol on his friend…something Carmen didn't seem to see.

'Hey baby…didn't think you were coming.' He slurred and she glanced quickly at Stacy before shrugging and beginning to walk up to the house. 'You lookin' for Sid?'

'Yeah…have you seen him?' Carmen asked as she pushed past a guy that looked a lot like Red Dog and a girl who were in tight lip lock. Jay followed her like an eager little puppy and Stacy stayed at a respectable distance. The boom of music was growing louder and the door of the Alva residence opened, unleashing Wentzle Ruml and Anita, Carmen's housemaid.

'Carmen! You made it, chica!' The drunken girl exclaimed, letting go of Wentzle and throwing her arms around Carmen's shoulders. 'I'm having so much fun…did my excuse work?'

'Anita, you're drunk.' She said softly and the girl giggled, letting go of her and twirling around, attaching herself to Wentzle again.

'I know! Isn' it great?' Anita giggled and Wentzle nodded to Carmen with glazed eyes.

'Hey Carma…how's it going?' He hiccuped before Anita dragged him off to the side of the porch, disappearing in the shadows. She watched them with a bit of a fearful expression and turned to Stacy, who was walking timidly behind her and Jay.

'Stacy…' Her voice trailed off as Jay pulled her into the party, getting lost immediately in the crowds and smoke. Colorful lights lit up the dim rooms and Tony waved from the couch, a girl with long dark hair sitting on his lap.

'Carma! You made it out!' He laughed and she nodded, not exactly sure of where Jay was taking her, but hoping it was to Sid. And that's when she saw him.

He was sitting with a girl Carmen had seen at pool sessions, smiling and talking with a kindled enthusiasm. He looked even paler in the light and she grabbed Jay's hand, jerking him towards the couple.

'Jay, you almost missed him.' Carmen exclaimed over the loud music, stopping in front of Sid and the girl. Sid's brown eyes widened in surprise, but he jumped up, his voice a haze.

'Carmen, baby! You made it out?' He slurred and she rolled her eyes. Anita wasn't the only one who was drunk and stoned. She giggled when he hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, his brown eyes twinkling.

'Yeah, Stacy came and picked me up…speaking of which, where is he?' Carma turned around, trying to see past Jay, who was staring hungrily at her. The heads were all turned and she couldn't see the familiar blonde anywhere.

'Probably still outside…Peralta hates parties.' Jay yawned, taking her hand and beginning to drag her somewhere again. Carmen's head turned back to Sid, who'd forgotten her presence and was cuddling up to the Latino girl he was with. 'Probably just wants to keep his girlie little ass clean and off the records.'

'Don't Jay.' The words slipped out of her mouth and she stared hard at him. Besides the fact it was full of the circle of friends she was a part of, Carmen could see exactly why Stacy stayed away from house parties. Everyone came out stoned, drunk, or both.

'Come on, baby.' He laughed, pushing her against a wall and slithering his hands around her middle. 'I was only joking…don't be so uptight.' Jay leaned in and the smell of alcohol got stronger, making her cringe in disgust. 'Now…why don't you loosen up and give Jayboy some sugar?'

Jay leaned in and traced a line of kisses on her neck, his hands pulling her closer to him by landing on her hips and daring to go lower.

'Jay, stop it.' She wined and he ignored her, continuing his drunken pleasures. 'Jay…'

Carmen shoved him off of her and tried to start walking away, but a strong hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her back and slamming her body up against the wall. Anger flared in Jay's usually laughing eyes and a sense of mischief washed over him.

'Don' leave yet, baby. We haven' even gotten started.' Forcefully, he kissed her, letting his hands roam and in a split second, he'd been pushed off of her, toppling over a chair and falling flat on his back. Skip wrapped Carmen under his arm and shook his head at Jay, who was out cold on the floor.

'Damn things alcohol does to you.' He muttered as he lead her away from Jay, walking right past Stacy in the process.

'Stacy!' Carmen turned out of Skip's arm, running to the tall blonde boy who looked at her worriedly. 'Can we go now?'

'Take her out of here, Peralta.' Skip growled, sipping his beer in his other hand. 'She doesn't belong in the party scene.' Stacy nodded obediently, leading Carmen out of the crowd before she could even turn around to thank Skip.

……

The night air was calm and cool, splashing against Stacy's face like water. He was lying on the front of his car, arms crossed and trying so hard to not hate Jay. He had eventually pried out what had happened from Carmen, and the end result had not been to his liking.

'Please don't kill him.' He couldn't help but smile at her plea. Carmen was lying beside him, staring up at the stars as well. Stacy hadn't asked her what had happened until they'd gotten as far as the pier and he hadn't bothered to run back and ask Skip. 'He was drunk.'

'I know he was.' He said quietly and she glanced over at him, trying to smile.

'It doesn't matter…he'll forget about it tomorrow, and we'll all be better again.' Carmen sighed, trying to convince him…and herself. 'Come on.'

Stacy sat up, watching her walk towards the beach, kicking off her shoes. She turned around, wiping the locks of hair that were blowing around her head out of her face. And he noticed she was smiling.

'Stacy, I'm not waiting forever. Come on.' He jumped off the car and ran up to her, stopping at her side and shoving his hands in his pockets.

'What are we doing?' He asked, curiosity overcoming him. Carmen sighed, running a hand through her hair that was now blowing behind her shoulders and out of her face.

'We're…walking. Strolling on the beach.' She offered and he took the bait, not daring to take his eyes off her. Now was his chance…his chance to make everything better.

'We aren't strolling…' Stacy reached for her hand, gently taking it and giving her the opportunity to pull away. 'This is strolling.' A playful grin came on her face and she swung their hands lightly, continuing to walk.

'Thank you for correcting me, Mr. Peralta.' Carmen smiled and Stacy felt the familiar shivers run up his spine. 'We are now correctly strolling.'

'No problem.' They continued to walk down the beach until they came to the ruins of the pier, where Carmen stopped and sat down on the sand, pulling Stacy down with her. 'What?' As she let go of his hand, a part of him wanted to snatch it back and keep it there, but the sensation of nervousness swept over him again and he didn't listen to the screams in his head.

'Thanks, Stacy.' She sighed and he frowned at her, his hand sitting next to hers in the sand. She was staring up at the full moon, her eyes lit up from the glow of the moonlight until she turned to look at him.

'For what?' He couldn't stop himself from asking and Carmen didn't seem to mind as shrugged.

'For just being there for me. I've never…really had anyone there…especially after Jamie and dad died. I mean, Sid's there, but only to a certain extent.' She turned away from him again, squinting up at the moon. 'No one's ever been there for me forever.' Stacy's hand inched its way over to hers slowly and he took it, his blue eyes attached to her as she turned her head towards him again.

'I'll be here.' Stacy couldn't stop himself from leaning forward. He couldn't stop himself from feeling this way about her. He couldn't stop himself from whispering the last word before he kissed her. 'Always…'


	5. A Disappointing Wave

Chapter 6: A Disappointing Wave 

The kiss lasted only a pure second, for it was interrupted by…

'Peralta! Carma, doll! Is that you?'

The loud yell made Stacy curse quietly as he and Carmen jumped back from each other just in time as Tony came limping down the sandy dunes with a drunken looking boy around his shoulders. He felt his face turn red as he quickly got up, following Carmen's example.

'Help me, will you man?' Tony asked Stacy and he nodded, walking over and taking the passed out Sid from his arms. 'He got a bit too tipsy and passed out on the couch with Thunder Monkey. If it hadn't been for Blanca, we would've never noticed him.'

'Sid!' Carma exclaimed, stroking the boy's long brown hair. Although he tried to prevent it from coming, a wave of jealous and disappointment ran through his body and into his glare at Tony. 'Stacy, we've got to take him home.'

'Yeah.' He agreed quietly, though the stiffness was apparent in his voice. She had paused in throwing one of Sid's arms across her shoulders and Tony, who was unmistakably high on something, whistled drunkenly at them.

'Sorry for interrupting the action, dude.' Tony slurred, directing this half-hearted apology to Stacy, who glowered. 'But like I told you before, man. You've got to do your ladies in the bedroom.'

'Tony!' Stacy growled and he seemed to take the warning soberly as he stumbled back to the sand dunes. 'I swear when I catch that mother-'

'We've got to get Sid home.' Carmen cut in, the worry in her words alarming Stacy slightly. 'He doesn't look so hot.'

'We'll take my car.' He offered and she laughed as she adjusted Sid's arm on her shoulders. She seemed just as flustered as he did and that fact gave him a tiny rush of relief. So she hadn't been praying for that distraction either.

'Good,' Carmen laughed. 'I thought you'd make me walk home with him.'

……

'The door's locked.'

Carmen silently cursed as Sid snored on her shoulder. After a more than awkward ride back to Sid's house with Stacy and a passed out Sid in the back seat, they arrived only to find the doors locked.

'All the lights are off too.' Stacy observed and she nodded, shifting her weight to lessen her load. Unfortunately, Sid still stayed the heavy lump he was on her left side. 'What now?'

'He could stay at my house…but I'm guessing my parents are still up.' Carmen had glanced out her window to see if the lights were still on in the Gilmore estate. And for her luck, they were. Every single one of them. 'Are you a quick thinker, Stace?'

Stacy looked confused for a second, but then he caught on. If they made up a story…such as Sid got beat up while they were on a walk and Stacy just happened to be passing by…the trouble they were all in would lessen by a hopefully large amount. Carmen tried to picture the look on her mother and Ron's faces when they saw her parade into the house with a passed out boy on one side and a Dogtown skater on the other. She would be lucky to make it up to her room.

'I could be.' He smiled and Carmen grinned, reaching for the elastic on her wrist.

'Excellent.'

……

'Mama, I'm home!'

The exact amount of seconds it took her mother's worried face to peer out of the sitting room door and change to an expression of confusion and fury was uncountable to Carmen. To her right, Stacy shifted uncomfortable.

'Are you sure this is going to work, Carma?' He muttered and she nodded slowly, hoping dearly that she was right.

'Of course it'll work, man. It's genius.' Ron's face had now appeared and the couple were making their way cautiously out of the room. Her mother's soft features hardened quickly and she narrowed her eyes, muttering something under her breath.

'Carmen Elizabeth Clark…where have you been?' She could easily tell her mother was trying to be calm, but the impression was only making her look angrier. 'What happened to Sid? And who is that?'

Carmen flinched at the harshness her mother had put into her last question, and she knew Stacy had as well. Even with his hair tied back in an innocent ponytail and a wrist watch, her mother still had to be suspicious of the blonde with the polo t-shirt on. Carmen had never been open about her friends outside of Sid…she'd mentioned the boys' names tons of times, but the way she had put it, they were some of Sid's "rich friends", not "Dogtown Z-boys".

'I was out on a walk,' Carmen started uneasily, glancing at Stacy for help. 'with Sid after we finished hanging out at his place. And when we were talking, we somehow ended up on the…rougher…side of town.'

'You mean Dogtown?' Ron interrupted and Carmen nodded.

'Yes, I suppose it was that.' She surprised herself with the sudden modesty of her tone…she'd never been a good liar, but after hanging out with the guys and Peggy for the last few months, their lying tactics had rubbed off on her. 'Anyway, we were walking and talking when this gang appeared. They tried to mug us, and Sid, being the noble person he is, tried to defend me.'

'But he ended up getting knocked over the head with a Pepsi bottle instead.' Stacy suddenly piped up and Carmen smiled. 'I'd been driving when I saw it happen. I'm Stacy, by the way. Stacy Peralta.'

Stacy's blue eyes twinkled when he smiled, but Sonya didn't seem to take the bait.

'And you just decided to stop and help them?' She asked coldly while Stacy didn't miss a beat, nodding.

'The lady was left alone.' He shrugged, looking to Carmen. 'I couldn't let those guys rough her up. I was surprised to see this sort on our side of town. I knew they couldn't hold their own with a Dogtown gang.'

'I heard you lot don't often help people.' Ron spat and Carmen had to bite her tongue from saying anything in defense. So maybe she still wasn't the best liar, but it wasn't like she'd blurted out the truth right then and there.

'I recognized Sid from work.' Stacy sighed. 'I work as a pool boy for his family sometimes.'

'Fine…his parents aren't home?' Sonya asked. Carmen shook her head and Sid moved his arms around her shoulders lazily. He was muttering something in his sleep, and she glanced at him worriedly. If he woke up and starting bragging about Tony's party, their cover would be blown.

'I don't know if they went to bed early or anything-'

'I'll certain be talking to Mrs. Columbino about this. She shouldn't be letting her son and much less my daughter out if she plans to lock the door.' Sonya fumed and Stacy frowned, making to take Sid off of Carmen. 'Oh no you don't. Thank you for helping Carmen and Sid, but you can leave now. Ron can take him up.'

'Oh,' Stacy blushed and she wanted more than anything to slap that horrible smirk off of Sonya's face. 'Alright. Well…it was nice meeting you. Bye Carmen…and Sid.'

And with that, Stacy walked out of the Gilmore residence, reaching back and taking out his elastic band on the way.

……

'Are you sure he'll be okay in your room, Carmabelle?' Sonya cooed. She'd cooled off after they'd had a bit of a spat and she was now ushering Ron, Carmen and Sid up to Carmen's room. The senior Gilmore's were using the guestroom and she'd already said she'd be fine with him in her room.

'For the last time, yes mom. Sid will be taken care of. Ice and everything.' Carmen sighed and her mother nodded, grabbing Ron's hand as he walked out of the room.

'Well, Sid's all comfortable and everything…he was muttering something about a Thunder Monkey, so I'm afraid he might be a bit loony…' Ron said and the name Thunder Monkey clicked. _So that was the girl he was with…_

'Don't worry about it. It might just be a new dog name he's coming up with. Carrie's having puppies.' She smiled, thinking of the several dogs the Columbino's kept. That's probably why Sid had named his pool "The Dog Bowl".

'Oh…alright. Good night then.' Ron said in confusion, and Sonya eyed her suspiciously. Most of the time, her mind could be easily read by her mother. She remembered the days she could tell her mother everything…but now…

'Goodnight Carma.' Her mother smiled and she tried not to think of what would happen when their bedroom door was closed.

_Tap, tap._

A tap against glass sounded from her window and she turned around quickly, locking her door. Knowing it was Stacy, judging from the long blonde hair, Carmen skipped over to her window quickly while Sid snored soundly on her bed.

'Stace, what are you doing up here man?' She whispered when she'd opened the window. He grinned at her, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

'I had to make sure you were still alive of course. Your mom didn't seem to like me that much.' Carmen laughed in spite of his comment, shaking her head.

'Don't worry about it. Sonya doesn't like a lot of things…a lot of wonderful things.' She'd added on the last bit as an attempt at flirting, but was still surprised at the blush she'd gotten out of Stacy.

'Damn,' He muttered, glancing down at the pane for a moment. 'Guess I just gave my motives away.' She giggled and he almost fell backwards as he tried to steady himself. At this sudden movement, a dog began to bark loudly, causing a link of about 10 dogs to bark as well. Even Pooka looked up from his perch on Sid's stomach to let out a tiny rap.

'Pooka! Shush!' Carmen laughed, knowing the situation wasn't funny, especially with Sonya looming over her like a thunder cloud, but the antics of the little mutt were too funny. 'You'd better go.'

'Yeah.' Stacy breathed, his blue eyes turned back to her. 'I'll see you at the pool tomorrow?'

'You know it.' She smiled, reaching forward and poking his nose playfully. 'Now scram.'

'I forgot one thing.' He said over the loud barking noises of the dogs. She was about to ask what when he leaned forward and kissed her cheek quickly. 'See you tomorrow.'

'Peralta!' She hissed as he jumped over the balcony and onto the roof. Carmen heard the crunch and cringed, hoping he was alright. She was falling fast for this boy, and she hated it. His words at the pier had been so deep and meaningful, it had almost scared her to death.

Carmen watched him until his blonde locks had disappeared behind the corner of her house. She sighed, still feeling the tingle of his kiss on her cheek. Hopefully Jay had just been really drunk tonight…

'Carma?' Sid's groggy voice came from her bed and she closed the window as she turned around to look at her best friend, who was lying in a mess on her lilac sheets, Pooka excitedly licking his face.

'Hey.' Carmen smiled as she slunk down onto the bed beside him, turning over on her stomach. 'How are you feeling?'

'Hung over.' He replied simply, rubbing his head. His brown eyes weren't glossy anymore and he sounded normal, but terribly sick. 'And damn clueless to where I am.'

'My room, stupid.' She laughed and Sid buried his face in his pillow. 'Your parents must have assumed you'd come over to my house for the night.'

'I wouldn't be surprised.' A knock sounded from the door and she hoped dearly that it wouldn't be her mother. 'Sonya?'

'I really hope not.' Carmen muttered before opening the door to see Anita. She looked drunk, but held up two glasses of something that smelt horrible. 'Anita?'

'Here chica…' She slurred, handing her one of the glasses. 'It's a Bloody Mary…id'll help a hang over like nothing.' Anita giggled drunkenly, sipping the drink herself. Carmen stared at her in confusion.

'But Anita, you're still drunk.' She said softly and Anita laughed, sipping the drink again, this time getting most of it on her shirt.

'I know.' The maid giggled before disappearing down the dark hallway. Carmen turned to Sid with the drink in her hand. He'd mentioned something about a hangover…and he definitely had one.

'Here,' Carmen said, pushing the cup into his hands when she sat down beside him. 'Drink this. It'll help you feel better.'

'What is this shit?' Sid exclaimed quietly after sniffing it. Her face became stern and he backed down. 'Alright, I'll drink it. But if it kills me, it's your fault.'

'I'll take full blame.' Carmen sighed and Sid downed the Bloody Mary quickly, most likely wanting to pass the disgusting flavor that came with it. When he'd slammed the glass down on her bedside table, she observed his face. 'How'd it taste?'

'Like the worst thing I've ever had in my life man.' He cringed and she smiled, hopping off the bed.

'Good…it'll work in a couple of seconds…or minutes…or possibly an hour.' Carmen said and she heard Sid stop breathing. 'Although, Anita was really drunk. So it'll probably work quicker if she made it stronger.'

'I'll take your word for it.' Sid mumbled, stretching back on her bed. Carma opened her closet door and stepped into the small room, making sure the door was tightly closed. She knew she shouldn't really care if Sid saw her changing, heck, he'd walked in on her with only her bra and a pair of baggy sweat pants on. But she was uncomfortable about that stuff…especially since he could still be kind of drunk. 'What are you doing?'

'Changing.' She replied simply and she heard a groan sound from her room. Carmen pulled a tank top on over her head, afterwards hopping into a pair of baggy sweats. All of her pajamas were old clothes of Jamie's or her dad's, and she loved to feel the memories seep through the fabric and to her mind as if they were still with her.

'That's Jamie's skateboard, right?' Sid asked when she'd reappeared from behind the closed door. Her eyes traveled to the worn skateboard that was propped up against her desk as if she actually rode it. That had been the way it was in Jamie's room…

'Yeah.' She said softly and Sid patted the bed beside him, smiling kindly at her. Carmen sighed as she sunk down beside him, suddenly realizing how tired he was. 'Jay kissed me tonight…and so did Stacy.'

'What?' She couldn't help but laugh at his sudden outburst and he stared at her with a weird kind of hardness. 'Carma…what happened?'

'Jay was drunk and Stacy was drunk on passion.' She shrugged, wondering if she'd worded it properly. The way Stacy had talked…she'd never heard him talk like that before…to anyone. And she was pretty sure Jay was drunk. Skip had even said it…

'Those dirty, good for nothing fags…' Sid paused for a second and Carmen raised her eyebrows. 'What is that?' His fingers found the bottom of her tank top and lifted it up before she could stop him. 'Carmen…'

She knew what he would find and she tried to pull away from him…but it was no use what so ever. Sid was sitting up and his hand was holding her arm gently, his eyes glued to the large, purple and blue bruise on her back.

……

'Sid…it's nothing. I just fell-'

'You didn't just fall, Carma.' The size of the bruise and the relative roundness was too exact for it to be an accident. Sid saw the blush run up to her cheeks and he kept his left hand securely on her arm as her trailed his fingers over the bruise on her back. Carmen winced in pain, taking in a shuddering breath.

'Oww…' She tried to laugh, but Sid had already crawled in front of her and was staring her straight in the eye. 'It's nothing…really.'

'You're not a good liar, man.' He said seriously and Sid couldn't mistake the tears welling up and spilling over onto her cheeks. 'Don't cry.'

'Sid,' She stuttered, leaning forward and resting her head on the crook of his neck. He set his arms around her, alarmed at the emotion and pain drenched in her voice. She let out a sob and he tried to calm her down, rubbing his hand up her arm. 'I don't know why she does it.'

Sid froze, holding her closer to him as he stared at the picture on her dresser. Carmen, her brother Jamie and her dad were posing for a picture at the beach…Jamie's hair was wet and he and his father had black wetsuits on. And then there was Carmen…she was in between her father and brother, smiling with a genuinely happy look on her face. Beside it, in a smaller frame, was a picture of her and Jamie…they were at the beach again, a hot dog in Jamie's hand as his arm rested on Carmen's shoulders. They were stills of a better time…memories that would be preserved forever.

Her tears were soaking through his shirt and onto his skin. The impact made him shiver as he held her in his lap, swearing under his breath. There was no doubt at least two more bruises…he'd seen them both at pool sessions. When she'd bent over to hand Tony and Jay drinks in the pool, the tunic she'd been wearing had ridden up and he'd caught a glimpse of something on her side. He had made to ask her about it later, but the bail had been early and she'd hitched a ride with Stacy in getting out of there before the fuzz got any of them.

Pooka jumped up on the bed and licked his hand, trying to climb up onto his lap as well. Sid laughed quietly, scratching the mutt behind his ears. He'd taken an attachment to the mutt and more than once had brought him to pool sessions. Carmen gave another sob and he turned his attention to her as Pooka settled for his master's lap instead.

'It won't happen again…I promise you.' Sid said quietly, kissing her head gently. He let her cry for as long as she wanted before she fell asleep out of weariness. Sid took her and gently placed her on half of the bed, lying down beside her and trying to fall asleep. Tiredness overcame him, but he tried to fight it. He knew he was getting weaker…but he didn't want to give into it. Maybe he would get stronger if he just pretended he was fine. Just maybe.


	6. By Your Side

a/n: I just wanted to send a big thanks out to Ellen, who helped me with a few ideas for this chapter. Thanks Elle! It wouldn't be the same without you hun!

Chapter 6: Sid's Condition

"Carmen! I'm leaving for work! I'll see you later sweetheart!"

Her mother's loud yell made her weary eyes slide open for a moment before shutting tightly again. _Do you have to announce it every time you leave?_ Turning further onto her side, Carmen realized where she was lying.

"Sid, you're very, very comfortable. Did you know that?" She mumbled and from somewhere above her head, she heard a laugh. "Sonya wake you up too?"

"What do you think?" He yawned, his voice stretching out his words as he shifted on her bed. They'd fallen asleep on each other and thanks to Anita's miracle Bloody Mary, Sid wasn't relishing the aftereffects of an Alva party. "Does she do that every morning?"

"She wants me to know that I still live with her, no matter what I might think." After a few moments of lying in silence, Carmen decided with regret that she had to get up…Stacy had told her to be at the pool around noon. And according to her clock, it was **11:15** p.m. "Alright sleepy head, we have to get up."

"You were sleeping too." Sid growled in defense and she just giggled as she began to climb off the bed. "Hey…where you going Carmabelle?"

"To get changed. I told Stacy we'd be at the pool, didn't I?" Carmen said and the boy rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in her pillow. "Get up sleepy head."

"Ten more minutes."

"Sid…"

"Fine." She smiled in victory as he rolled off of her bed, landing on the floor with a thump, as she walked towards her closet in the dim light of the room, her curtains still being closed. "Do you know where the pool is?"

"Nope." A trail of curses rung in her ears as she shut the door to her closet, throwing off her tank top and shifting through the T-shirt section of her closet. "Think it'll be just as hot as yesterday?"

"Hotter." A white tunic-like T-shirt caught her eye, and Carmen pulled it off its hanger, examining it before throwing it over her head. It was a light, cotton material, perfect for a heat wave or a slightly breezy day. The weather had been unpredictable in the drought Santa Monica was having…making choices with what to wear was crucial to coming home without a heat stroke. "Skippy's putting together a skate team."

"Really?" She asked, pulling out a pair of worn Levi's from her pile of jeans. "You gonna join it?"

"Yeah," Sid laughed, but she could hear the nervousness in his voice. "First competition's at Del Mar in a few weeks…will you come, Carma?" By now, she'd pulled on the worn out jeans and was standing outside her doorway, her eyebrows raised.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'll come. I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Smiling, Carmen ran towards her bed and jumped on Sid, who'd lain back down on her bed. After a slight wrestling match, they both lay back where they'd started, grinning happily.

"You gotta stop doing that." Sid panted and she propped herself up on her elbow, studying Sid with a worried glance. Their wrestling match had taken quite a bit out of him and he was paler than usual…something wasn't right about him.

"Sid," Carmen started after a moment of silence. He turned his chocolate brown eyes to her, his eyebrows raising in question. "You'd tell me if something was wrong…right?" Sid paused, and his eyes went slightly glazed as he licked his lips a few times. It was as if he was trying to bite the courage to say something…but after a moment, he shook his head and turned on his side as well.

"Nothing's wrong, Carma girl." He smiled lightly at her, his hand reaching forward and rubbing against her cheek. "Don't worry." Carmen smiled, knowing she should believe her best friend, but she couldn't shake the sensation she was getting from him.

"Sid-"

A loud knock on the door interrupted her, followed by a brisk and sweet sounding voice.

"Carmen, dear?" Carmen paused, her long and messy brown hair falling in front of her face as she sat up. "Carmen? It's Emily…are you up yet?"

"Emily?" Sid whispered in question and she tripped over her own feet as she scrambled towards her mirror. The pain came quickly to her hands and knees as she crashed onto her bedroom floor. She'd completely forgot Emily and Frank were staying the night…but that would explain why Sid was in her room.

"Dear goodness, are you alright in there? Carmen?" Emily's voice called from outside the door as Carmen picked herself up off the ground, turning to Sid and biting her lip.

"Yes, Emily. I'm fine. I'm uh…just getting ready, that's all." She called, spinning around to Sid in desperation. "What do I do?"

"I don't know…get ready?" She hoped her step-grandmother couldn't hear their whispering…she'd probably be appalled at the thought of Carmen and a boy sleeping in a room together.

"Oh, I see. Could I come in?" The knot in her stomach grew as she stared at Sid, who shrugged nervously.

"Uh…I don't look that nice, I'm just getting ready, you see." She called, hoping that her excuse would work. But much to her disappointment, a laugh came from outside the doorway and the door handle clicked as Emily began to come into the room.

"No!" Carmen hissed, hiding her face from the door as a large thump sounded. Squeezing her eyes shut, Carmen could already hear her step-grandmother's voice. _Letting a boy sleep in her room with her! Ronald! Sonya! What were you thinking?_ The senior Gilmore's had obviously not heard about her run in with Stacy and Sid the previous night.

"Carmen," Emily's laugh filled her ears as she felt a hand being set on her shoulder. "No wonder you think you look horrible…the curtain aren't even open!"

The elderly woman who was dressed in a jogging outfit walked over to the window beside her bed, her most common escape route, and pulled back the blinds with pride, smiling at the bright sunshine pouring through the glass panes. Carmen turned her head to see the floor beside her bed where Sid had been lying empty. He was gone.

"See? Now look in the mirror." The redhead smiled kindly at her and she smiled back, leaning over slightly to see the empty space again. And that's when she saw the wave of a hand from underneath her bed. "You look perfectly beautiful."

"Thank you." Carmen smiled meekly as Sid's face grinned back at her from the floor. "I'm just really uneasy about my looks in the morning."

"Aren't we all." Emily said, picking up the brush on Carmen's white washed dresser and mirror. "Here…I'll brush your hair and you can do your makeup."

"Uh…" She stuttered, looking uneasily at the seat in front of her. The last time she'd let her mother brush her hair was the day after Jamie and her father's funeral. The day she'd told her…

"**I'm getting married." Carmen stared blankly ahead of her at the picture of Jamie and his friends at the area their favorite skating area. It was the day after her brother's funeral…the day after her father's funeral…the day after everything came crashing down. **

"**You're what?" She whispered, her voice still hoarse and sore from crying herself to sleep. Her long hair fell back onto her neck and around her shoulders, a sign her mother had stopped brushing her hair. They were sitting in Carmen's room, her mother behind her as Sonya brushed her hair, one of their usual mother-daughter talking times. But she hadn't been expecting a bomb like this. **

"**I'm getting married." Sonya repeated, coming in front of her daughter as she rubbed her hands up and down on her bare legs. She was wearing one of those flimsy, mini skirts and an equally flimsy tank top while Carmen had settled for something less flattering. A baggy sweatshirt and jeans covered her body while her face remained makeup free. "His name is Ron…well, you know everything else."**

**_You mean about the affair? Yes, I know. I've known from the beginning. But dad was too kind to see past your fake image…and I know better now._**

**"Yeah." Carmen coughed, wiping her stiff feeling face. She had a headache from crying herself to sleep. A headache from the world she lived in now. "So…when are you getting married?"**

"**Tomorrow."**

"**Tomorrow?" She didn't know what is was inside of her that snapped, but when it did, she couldn't stop herself from yelling. "It's the day after Jamie and dad's funeral, and you're getting married tomorrow?"**

"**Carmen, calm down." Her mother said angrily, but she couldn't stop as fresh tears flowed out of her eyes and down her face. **

"**You know, I think dad knew…the whole time you and Ron were sneaking around behind his back, he knew. But he couldn't face the fact that his darling wife would be sneaking around with some guy from the office. Jamie and I knew…why couldn't he see!"**

"**Shut up, you little-"**

"**No!" She let out a sob and stumbled forward, using her hands to hold her up in her sitting position. "I bet that the second you found out dad and Jamie were gone, you weren't even upset. You probably just started planning your wedding to that man."**

"**SHUT UP!" Sonya screamed, grabbing the closest thing to her and swinging it at her daughter. As Carmen cried out in pain, she felt the back of her camera tripod stand dig into her back. "I never want to hear you say that again! Never again! I'm finally happy Carmen! Can't you see that? I wasn't with your father! Or that little brat!"**

"I just love your hair, Carmen. It's absolutely beautiful…just like your mother's." Emily's admiration brought her back to the seat in front of her mirror and Carmen stared back at her reflection. Long, straight brown hair, small but healthy frame, fair skin with a sun-kissed glow…she and her mother looked almost the same. How could she be the same as her mother? The woman who would beat her with the closest thing possible after coming face to face with the truth.

"Yeah." She sighed after Emily gave her an expectant glance from the mirror above. The elderly woman smiled, taking her hair and bunching it together in her hand. Moments later, Carmen's sleek brush glided through her hair, stopping at a few small knots.

"So dear, I heard you hang out with the Columbino's boy?" Carmen reached for her mascara as she nodded, feeling the cold touch of plastic against her hands.

"Sid's been one of my best friend's since I came to Santa Monica." She said shyly, trying to stare straight ahead of her as she layered the black makeup on her eyelashes. "Do you know the Columbino's?"

"I know Albert's mother." Emily said, smiling as she worked through another knot. "She's always talking about how her grandson is a disgrace to the family. And that's when I was surprised to hear that you're friends with him."

_Disgrace to the family…they certainly weren't telling Sonya and Ron that at dinner…_

"How so?" Carmen asked innocently, pretending to know nothing of Sid being a disgrace to his family. Emily shrugged, reaching for elastic band on the dresser top.

"Oh, Roberta said he hangs out with the wrong sort of people. Drug dealers, prostitutes, and those Dogtown skate boarders. It's absolutely dreadful some of the things she's told me." Carmen moved onto the blush sitting in front of her as she set the mascara down, blinking once or twice to let it set in. Emily was pulling long strands of hair up and down as she worked on doing her step-granddaughter's hair.

"I see." She said quietly as she brushed the powder across the apples of her cheeks. "Well…Sid's a wonderful boy, I know that much."

"Yes, Roberta has said that as well. I'm just so surprised his parents would allow him out in his condition." Emily said the last word in a bit of a whisper and Carmen stopped breathing as she picked up her eyeliner. Condition? Sid had a condition?

"A condition? I'm sorry…I don't know what you're talking about." Emily froze for a second as what Carmen had just said registered in her mind. But a second later, she'd gone back to fixing her hair, shaking her head as if she'd just made a silly mistake. "Emily…what condition are you talking about?"

"It's nothing, Carmen. I assumed you knew…but really…it's nothing. There," Carmen set down her eyeliner as Emily stood back to admire the work she'd accomplished on Carmen's hair like it was a masterpiece or something. "I'm finished. Oh, you do look quite nice with your hair up like that."

Carmen's hand flew up to feel the back of her head, cringing slightly as the half of her hair that wasn't pulled back tickled her neck. It was pulled back messily and rather bohemian like, the complete opposite of what she'd expected from Emily.

"You look shocked Carmen." She smiled kindly at her from the mirror. "I was a hairdresser before I met Ron's father. Then I became a housewife…my true calling."

"Indeed." Frank's voice came from the doorway and both of the girls turned to see him standing in the open door, his tracksuit on and a smile on his face. "Good morning Carmen. Or should I say good afternoon? We missed you for breakfast this morning."

"I was really tired." Carmen smiled lightly, observing the strong and powerful looking man. Ron looked an awful lot like his father, the same important and business like expression always on his face. But Frank had a childlike look to his face and his eyes seemed to be more relaxed than his son. _He's certainly a lot kinder…_ "I'm very sorry I missed breakfast, Frank."

"Oh that's okay. But I was wondering if you would like to join Emily and me for our afternoon jog? We used to go every day when we lived here…I think you'd enjoy it."

Quickly coming up with an excuse in her head, Carmen frowned apologetically at the two of them, Emily having rejoined her husband.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it. I promised Sid I'd come over today. Maybe another time though?" At the end of her explanation, she held her breath and hoped they wouldn't force her to come. But indeed they didn't, and left her with a nod and a promise for another time to walk.

"And the Oscar goes to…Miss Carmen Clark for her role in _Fooling the Gilmores_!"

Sid's happy shout minutes later almost made her smile. But her mind was still lingering on Emily's words…and the way she had said condition like Sid was doomed to die at any minute. She turned from the mirror to face him, her face pale and upset.

"Woah, man. What's wrong? You should be happy! You just pulled a major stunt there!" He laughed, walking up to her and throwing his hands on her shoulders. "Carmen…smile girl."

She wasn't sure if she should say it…what if nothing was wrong and she was just pestering him again? But as she stared into the face of someone she'd known to be her best friend, she knew something was different. He looked more pale than he usually was…the dark circles under his eyes were sickly looking, even though he'd been getting as much sleep as he needed…and his attitude and charisma was getting weaker and weaker each day.

"Sid…what's wrong with you?" Carmen asked, her voice light as she fought against letting out a sob. "What's your condition-n?" She stuttered on the last word, biting her lip so she wouldn't cry. Sid's face fell, his deep chocolate brown eyes saddening instantly. And she knew then that he had to tell her.

……

"We should sit down."

He knew it was corny and made it sound like something terrible, but it's what the doctor had said before he'd found out…and he knew for a fact that it helped. _Carmen should be the first to know…she'll probably take it a lot better than the guys will…or a lot worse. _

She followed him to her bed shakily, the tears welling up in her eyes as she realized this wasn't just a cold…but something big. Sid watched with regret, the fact that he'd caused this upon her killing him. He'd promised her no more pain…promised her everything would be okay. But he would rather tell her now then on his deathbed.

"What's going on?" Carmen whispered and he reached forward, taking one of her hands in his. And as if his life depended on it, he held onto her hand, trying several times to speak before finally getting it right.

"I…I…I have…" Sid tried, mentally cursing as he looked into her eyes, trying to find words for the second time. "I have brain cancer, Carmen." He could feel the words cut into her like a knife, finding her heart and stabbing right through it as she stared at him in disbelief.

"What?"

That one word sliced through him, burning his soul and tightening the grasp he had on her hand. Now he was the one fighting oncoming tears…they both were.

"Carmen, please-"

"You can't leave me…you can't." She let out a sob as he pulled her into a hug, the tears he was holding inside making him shake. "You can't die on me Sid." 

He opened his mouth to say something, anything to comfort her, but he knew there was nothing to say. Nothing he could say would comfort her or take away the pain…he couldn't say anything without trying to convince himself. Sid had never been the brave one…that was Jay or Tony or Stacy. They had no fear as they rode the walls of the pool, or surfed areas not even the bravest person would surf…and he lived in fear everyday with death looming over his head like a thundercloud. If it was one of them instead of him, they would face it head on. They would believe they could beat it…not settle for the fact they would probably die. _They would face it head on…_

And all he could do was hold her. Instead of saying something, he used his arms and his body and his tears to comfort her. He wanted to make it better…but he couldn't. Only a greater power could do that…

"I love you Sid…" Her whisper came quietly, and he barely caught it. "I-I love you so much."

And even as Carmen said those words, Sid knew she didn't mean it the way he wished she would. To her, he was her best friend…her companion through thick and thin. Nothing more…and nothing less. Tears continued to spill down both of their faces as they sat in each other's embrace, her head resting on his shoulder as she still clung onto his hand.

"I…" She started, trailing off and ending with a sob. Moving his free hand, he wiped off his tears with his sleeve and quickly captured her in his arms again as new tears moistened his cheeks. "I c-c-can't lose you like I lost Jamie and d-daddy…you c-can't leave me."

"I'll never leave you, Carmen." Sid said, his voice hoarse and sore as he lifted her face with his hand, still keeping her locked against him with his arm. "I promise you that."

Before he knew what he was doing, he leaned down and kissed her, the tears that had been rolling down her cheeks hitting his face instead.

……

And it was somewhere between the point of kissing Sid and realizing she was cheating him that Carmen pulled back from her best friend. She couldn't be doing this to him…why was she doing this to him? Kissing him back…kissing him and making him think that she did love him that way…but she didn't.

"Sid…" She breathed, her heart still hurting from the news he'd just told her. "You don't deserve this…" His hand found her face again and Carmen reached up to touch it. "When I said I loved you-"

"You didn't mean it that way." Carmen bit her lip, nodding sadly. Sid had brain cancer…Sid…her best friend…the closest thing to Jamie she had in this world…was slowly dying. "Carma…I know. I've always known."

He kissed her cheek softly, wiping a rogue tear off her cheek.

"But that didn't stop me from loving you." His voice was more serious than she'd ever heard it, and filled with a sadness she couldn't describe. "I just wanted to be happy…and let you know."

They sat in a comfortable silence, with nothing but their thoughts to fill the space between them. And though they both knew they were late for the pool session, all they cared about was that moment and the moments they would have until fate decided the ending.

a/n: Very depressing chapter, I know. But I hope you guys liked it! Remember to review!


	7. Snapshots of New Memories

Chapter 7: Snapshots of New Memories 

a/n: Okay! I realize that in the movie, Stacy and Kathy got together after the exclusion of Stacy from the Zephyr team…but in my story…they are past history. Okay? I just wanted to clear that up with everyone…like I said before, my story is going to be totally (mostly) OC…enjoy this chapter!

"Dude! That was totally gnarly!" Tony's yell made her smile as she took another picture of Stacy coming back to where she and the rest of the Z-boys were sitting, waiting their turns. Today was a group day…a day when they ditched the crowd of people that usually followed them around and met at a previously decided pool. It was extremely exclusive and if you brought someone that wasn't supposed to be there, or if you snitched to everyone else…you had the rest of the group to deal with.

"Thanks man." Carmen snapped a shot of Tony and Stacy grasping each other's hands in a brotherly way, grinning as if they'd both just scored gold at a skate competition, or got on Skip's good side for the day. She loved these days the best…mainly because there weren't large crowds of people cheering the z-boys on. All they had to impress was their brothers (and in her and Peggy's case, sisters) and it was on these days that they conquered their biggest demons in the pool.

"Your turn, Jay boy." She felt her stomach lurch as Jay walked over to the edge of the pool, brushing against her shoulder as he did. He'd been staring her down all morning and she was expecting the apology by the time they all begun to leave.

"Carma, Jayboy does some really good side shots…you should take a few." Peggy nudged her and brought her attention back to the real world as she realized her camera refocus knob wouldn't turn anymore. "Carmen?"

"What? Oh…yeah…that's a good idea P.O. Thanks." She let her feet drag as she weaved through the boys watching Jay's moves, quietly commenting to each other as he hit the pool's edges with class.

"'Scuse me, Red Dog." Carmen smiled as she made to get past him on the bottom step, but he just laughed. "What are you-AHHH!" She let out a shriek of laughter as Jim picked her up and put her over his shoulder, walking up the pool stairs with her and letting her down. The roars of laughter it had gotten out of Shogo and Wentzel were loud and generous, but it didn't stop her from playfully slapping him when he put her down on the ground.

"I was doing you a favor, doll!" He moaned and she shook her head while letting out a soft giggle, her long brown hair tossing itself in the wind as she did. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd never been happier than she was now. Before when she'd hung out with Jamie and his friends, she'd been his quiet twin sister that they all liked to tease…the only girl, other than his fierce groupies, to hang out with them. But now it was different. She was part of this group…even when they weren't skating and such. And it made her feel so welcome…for the first time since Jamie died.

Posing herself on the end of the pool, she knew that Jay would probably skate up to her and give her a rat face as he made a loop back down to the bottom of the pool, but she wanted to catch him in action. At that right moment…

_Click._ She got it…Carmen smiled in satisfaction as she wound up the camera again, bringing the lens up to her eye when she was finished and preparing to take another shot. He'd been rounding one of the pools sharp corners, his eyes fixed on the path ahead of him as his body was completely sideways. Jay was crouching, slightly, his hands spread out like he was surfing, his blonde hair blowing in the wind as he picked up speed. And she'd caught it.

"Whalla!" He screamed as he suddenly appeared in front of the camera, making his too famous rat face and posing for the camera. She let out a giggle, focusing the camera on his face and taking a snap. These would be memories for when she was older. When they were big and famous. She could show everyone these pictures and tell them that she was there during the Dog days. That she had been allowed in when everyone else hadn't been.

The group was cracking up at Jay's random moves, and let out an even louder roar of laughter when he lost balance and fell off his board and into the shallow bit of water at the bottom of the pool.

"Ah, Jayboy!" Tony screamed, doubling over with laughter as he emerged from the water, shaking his hair and looking up at Carmen. She was lightly laughing, but looking down at him in concern.

"Are you okay?" She asked and he gave her a thumbs up, grinning impishly as he picked up his fallen board and began to make his way towards the group of Z-boys awaiting him on the stairs. "Careful Jay. It's going to be awfully slippery after you got wet-"

And the words had barely escaped her mouth when he slipped on his long, sagging wet jeans, falling and hitting the pool floor. A loud moan was heard from the boys and Peggy, who was lining up for her turn.

"Are you okay now?" Carmen asked, setting a hand on her hip as she glanced down at Sid, who was laughing along with Jim. Jay lifted up a hand weakly, letting it fall after a second. He would be fine.

……

They'd gotten out of that pool session without a bail, seeing as the owners of the house were away on vacation somewhere. So, calmly and quickly, they'd scattered to the few cars that they'd brought after deciding on a place to eat, and began their drive there. Carmen and Sid decided to go with their usual chaperone, Stacy, along with Peggy, Red Dog, and Jay.

"Carma, you can sit on my lap…there isn't enough room back here." Red Dog grinned slyly and Carmen giggled, glancing wearily at Stacy before sitting on the boy's lap. He was indeed right…there was barely any room in the car today, the back only seating three and Sid carrying everyone's skate boards in the front seat with him.

"Can we go guys? Tony and all them already left." Stacy asked, looking at them through the rearview mirror. Jay let out a hoot to answer and Peggy nodded to Stacy, whose eyes rested on Carmen before returning back to the road. A long silence between them was only filled with the slightly muted Jimi Hendrix coming from Stacy's car's radio, and it was Red Dog who finally broke the silence.

"I know this is probably going to sound very odd coming from me but…Carmen, you smell reallllllyyyyy good." A laugh was shared through the car as Jim blushed, shrugging as Carmen rested against his chest.

"Of course she does. She's a girl." Jay laughed and she shook her head as Sid turned to grin at them in the back seat.

"You should smell her room." Jim and Peggy glanced at each other while they both chuckled, Peggy kicking the boy's seat.

"And you would know that how, Sid?" Sid blushed slightly as Carmen gasped and attempted to slap Peggy, while Jim threw his arms around her holding her in a lock. "I was just kidding Carma girl! Chill!"

Jay and Stacy, who had awkwardly been sitting in silence since the whole debate started, let out sighs of relief as they pulled up to _Little Italy_, the pizzeria they'd all voted on before leaving the pool. Snatching the keys out of the ignition, Stacy was the first to open his door.

"Come guys…out…we're here." He mumbled as Peggy climbed out of the back seat, her long black hair blowing in Carmen's face as she climbed out behind her. "I'm starving."

"Me too." Sid moaned, slamming his car door shut before running at full speed towards the door. "Come on dudes! I can smell the goodness from here!"

"Yeah dude, I can smell you from here!" Red Dog laughed and Peggy slapped him lightly as they slowly followed him, Stacy's hands already opening the pizzeria's door. "Ey! Carmen, Jayboy, hurry up you slowpokes!"

Carmen scowled at being called slow, but Jay just merely waved him off as he grabbed Carmen's hand, pulling her into the alley beside the building. The brunette gasped and angrily tried to pull her hand out of his, but Jay's grip could not be matched. He succeeded in pulling her as far as the back door of the pizzeria.

"Jay! What are you doing man?" She growled, until she turned around and saw the look in his eyes.


	8. Black and Blue

Chapter 8: Black and Blue

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in like a bazillion years, but I've been busy…gah…here you go!

"_Jay! What are you doing man?" She growled, until she turned around and saw the look in his eyes._

In all of the days she'd known any boy, she had never known one to cry. Her own brother had never cried once when they'd past the age of ten, and her father had often said that he'd reached the height of manhood and finally stopped being a wimp. Jamie hadn't even cried the day he'd fallen over and scraped the whole side of his bare arm. Jay wasn't crying right now…but the look on his face was even worse than it would be.

"Jay…" Carmen sighed, bringing her hands up to his face. He looked as if the whole world was coming to an end sometime soon and he was the only guy who knew about it. It was only when she'd cupped both sides of his face and brought up to look at her that he pushed her away from him. "Jayboy, what's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong, Carmen," Jay moaned, walking away from her. It was a dark, gray, dingy back lot, several puddles muddled around the large navy dumpster standing just off the side of the small staircase leading into the pizzeria. It wasn't the best spot in the world, but she knew that Jay had, for whatever reason, wanted this to be private. "You know what I did."

"You were drunk," Carmen shrugged, wrapping her arms around her own stomach. She had no where else to keep them in a comfortable position. "It happens to everyone when they're drunk."

"It was no excuse," he mumbled, letting out a difficult sigh before turning to her. "I'm so sorry for putting you through that…uhm…awkwardness dude. Especially with Stacy right there."

"He didn't see anything," She replied quietly. She couldn't give him anything but reassurance. And that was all he needed. "He did want to kill you when he found out though."

"Skip did enough of a job for him," Jay laughed dryly, rubbing the back of his head. He was looking at her through open eyes, his face still wretched with guilt. She knew he was sorry…but he didn't seem to be listening to her.

"Jay, it really is alright," Carmen said softly, staring at him with a pained, but sincere expression. "Really."

"I know," Jay groaned, stepping backward with his hands on the top of his head, holding his hair out of his eyes. "I just…I'm just angry that I…let myself go." Carmen paused in her thinking, her eyes flickering up to him and narrowing in question. She didn't understand what he meant…let himself go? In what way other than trying to stick his tongue down her throat?

"I…I don't understand Jay," She sighed, her green eyes getting across the fact that she was indeed confused. Even when his brown eyes collided with hers, she couldn't understand what he meant.

"Carmen," He mumbled, dropping his hands from his head and taking a step forward. The expression on his face was hard to read, and for the first time since she'd met him, Carmen began to realize that Jay wasn't as transparent as he made himself seem. "I didn't kiss you just because I was drunk, okay?" Jay took a step closer, but she held her ground, her feet not seeming to want to move. "I kissed you," He paused to run a hand up her arm, licking his lips as he did. "Because I wanted to."

Carmen's expression had turned stony and thoughtful, her eyes narrowed at him in an almost angry way. He was ruining everything…everything with Stacy…everything with Sid…just everything. Jay Adams knew how to twist reality.

"Carmen! Jay!" A shout came for them and both of their gazes turned towards the alleyway. "Carmen! Jay!" An alarm went off in her head and she recognized the voice as Stacy's. _Great_. "Carmen! Ja-"

"We're coming Stace!" She yelled back, her eyes flickering back to Jay. What was she supposed to think? Did she even like him back that way? "Come on…let's go Jay. I'm starving."

……

"There you guys are," Stacy said, trying his best to not sound angry. When he'd turned around to smile at Carma, his stomach had churned to only find she wasn't there. Sid had shrugged it off and told him that Jay had pulled her off down the alleyway. Stacy had waited until Tony wasn't looking to slip out the door. He couldn't afford to be made fun of by the fact he was boiling over in jealousy. "I've been looking everywhere."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Carmen's face appeared out of the dark shadows beside the pizzeria, a gentle smile teasing her features. Gull's cried in the distance, and a car's alarm went off somewhere not too far. And yet the only sound that mattered to Stacy's ears at the moment was her reassuring voice. "Jay and I were just talking in private for a moment."

"Oh," He nodded, his blue eyes flickering to Jay. Of all places he'd had to drag her off to, the back of the pizzeria had had to be it. _Way to go Jay. Way to go. _"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Carmen smiled, coming up and wrapping an arm around his waist. He felt the familiar sensation fly up in his cheeks. _Everything will be fine, Stacy._ "Everything is fine."

……

Quietly, Carmen shut her window closed gently, trying her hardest to not make a sound. It was almost two a.m. and she'd been out late with the boys at a Zephyr Shop party until Stacy had finally persuaded her to come on a drive with him. After Sid had promised to make it home safely, she'd obliged, staying out with the blonde for nearly an hour before she'd asked him to drive her home after checking the time.

She smelt like the salty ocean air with a mix of smoke, her rose perfume from earlier that day barely recognizable. Carmen wanted nothing more than to go have a shower, but she knew that if she started the shower this late, her mother would more than likely catch her. Pooka's tiny head peaked up from the end of her bed before setting back down again. At least someone had been waiting for her.

The clash of clay wheels against the heavy floorboards made her jump, and she gasped as she clutched at her chest. Her room was dimly lit, so she could only see the outline of her mother after her slender feet that were bathing in the pale moonlight. Her legs were crossed, as usual, and she was dangling her foot up and down.

"Mom," Carmen gasped, her voice uncontrollably shaky. "You scared the hell out of me." A light giggle came from her mother as she brought something up to her lips and in the dark shadows, Carmen could see the glint of a wine bottle in her hand. _Oh…no…_

"Oh Carmenn," The slur in her voice extended the end, driving it into Carmen's brain and driving chills up her spine. "You think tha' youu were sscared? How do you theenk I felt when _I_ walked inn here a' onne in the morning to find my daughter gonne?" And instead of hearing the clink of glass against a surface like she'd been hoping for, she heard the sickening grunt of her mother as she staggered to her feet. Taking a step back, Carmen's hand grazed the wall behind her.

"Where's Ron?" She asked, her voice quiet and scared. Her mother only got like this when she was really upset. Something must have happened…

"Ronn? He'ss onn a bussinesss trip…yep…one _hugee_ business trip," Sonya laughed, bringing the bottle to her lips as she stumbled forward into the light. "And you…where you've beenn all night is one hell of a mystery to me." She was up against the wall now as her mother took stumbling steps towards her, the almost empty wine bottle in her hand swaying dangerously. "Please, mama," Carmen pleaded, biting her lip. Maybe her lie would work one more time? "I was at Sid's hou-" "Don't lie to me you little bitch!" The scream came as a shock to Carmen and she felt tears sting her eyes as she pressed herself against the wall harder, wishing it to go further. "I wennt over to their house and they said that youu and Sid were probablly at a _party_," And all the lies, all the excuses that had been covering her up until that minute came crashing down on top of her head as she stared at the drunken woman in front of her. "Now…why would Kim Colombino tell me tha' if you were upstairss the whole time?" 

"She wouldn't," Carmen said, feeling like a little girl again. Only this time, Jamie wasn't at her side, clutching onto her hand for dear life as they both faced their screaming mother. She remembered the nights when they'd both huddled under a blanket in the middle of their room, a flashlight lighting the space for them as they tried to not listen to their parents fight and argue downstairs. "But mom, I-"

**_Slap!_** The cold hand left a searing pain right across her cheek, a red mark remaining there as a scar. The last bottle of tears uncorked and spilled over as Carmen brought her hands to the side of her face, biting her lip as she tried not to cry out.

"I'm sick of your liess, Carmenn. I am sick of your _lies_," Her mother hissed, draining the last of her wine. In all her disgust, Carmen could almost feel the thick, silky beverage sliding out of the bottle and through her mother's mouth. Now she had a weapon…and Carmen…Carmen had Pooka. The small mutt had begun barking as soon as her mother had slapped her, and the drunken woman turned to the dog. A twang of worry fell through her body and she heard herself whimper a plea. "And I am sick of thiss mutt!" Sonya took a drunken swing at the dog, which jumped quickly out of harm's way before the bottle could come an inch away from him.

"Leave him alone!" **_Slap_**. She took another hit for her dog. But now Carmen was more angry than scared…how could she do this to her own daughter? "St-stop it."

"What the hell did you just say to mee?" Her mother's slur caused fear to jump around in her whole body, but instead of cowering, Carmen straightened up and glared at the woman. She had no right to be talking down to her…especially when she was family.

"I told you to stop…it…" She stuttered, and that was when the wine bottle came crashing down on the wall beside her.

……

Sid tapped softly on the window of Carmen's bedroom. He knew the way to get up the drainpipe and through the window without breaking any of the delicate flowerpots like he had the first time. Luckily, Anita had been the maid that day, so she'd covered up for him with the excuse that a bird had hit the window and knocked it over.

"Carmen?" He said softly when no one answered. Nimbly setting his fingers below the bottom of the window, he opened it with ease. That was odd…Carmen almost never slept with her window unlocked. Crouching low to climb in, Sid pulled off an odd aerial somersault, landing in a pile on her floor. Letting out a loud grunt, Sid hurriedly sat up to assure her he was okay. "Tada!"

His grin was large and his back was hurting from the stunt he'd just pulled off, and he eagerly looked around for her smiling face. She was probably still waking up, grinning lazily at him before flopping back down on her bed and making some crack at his expense. But as his eyes traveled to her made bed, he felt his stomach falter.

"Carmen?" Sid repeated again, this time in a whisper. Hopefully, her mom was working or downstairs…or else he would find himself in a lot of trouble soon. "Carmabelle? Where are you?" Grabbing onto the side of her dresser to help him get up, Sid heaved himself off the floor and dusted himself off as he looked around her room. "Carmen?"

He didn't get her voice in response, but Pooka did run over to greet him. Sid's smile widened at the dog and he immediately bent down to pick him up. Pooka was as cheerful and yippy as Carmen was on good days and a relief when you needed love.

"Hey Pooka," Sid grinned, barely getting a feel of the dog's fur before he barked and trotted off to the side of Carmen's bed, frequently glancing behind him. _What are you trying to tell me?_ Frowning as he followed the dog, Sid froze when he saw two bare feet limply lying beside the bed. His throat became dry and he tried to convince himself that she'd rolled off the bed and hadn't woken up. His eyes drifted to her lilac sheets, the welt growing in his throat as he noted the smooth sheets. And then…blood.

His feet jumped to the other side of the bed before he even had time to think. She lay there, her brown hair thrown above her head, her pretty face bruised and blue, a small treacle of blood staining from several wounds in her body. Sid's stomach revolted for a moment and he felt the sting of oncoming tears.

"Oh…oh shit…"

……

"Stacy!" He had just finished saying hello when someone shouted at him from the other end of the line. After a long day at work, he had just come home to change before heading out to skate with the boys. "Stacy, it's Sid."

"Oh…hey man," Stacy said awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to the boy over the phone. This was the first and probably the last time he would speak with Sid over the phone. But the rushed urgency in his greeting comment suddenly dawned on Stacy. Was something wrong? "What's up?"

"It's Carmen."

……

He couldn't breathe…it had taken him a few moments to actually touch her to make sure she was still warm. She was cold, but still warm enough. And her pulse…he had no idea where to check for that. Sid had kneeled on the ground and moved her head to his lap, gently stroking it as he grabbed the phone on her desk and quickly dialed the numbers he'd somehow memorized.

"What about Carmen?" Stacy's reply was quick, and Sid felt his throat dry up as he tried gently slapping her face again. It didn't work and she continued to lie there in his lap, her blank sleeping face staring up at him through closed eyes. "Sid."

"Oh, right," He stuttered, shifting his weight. Still, nothing. "She's hurt…I don't know what happened…but, Stacy, she's not waking up and she's barely breathing and she's really cold an-"

"Wait, slow down!" The yell coming from the receiver made him squint, but he didn't move the phone from his bad ear. His good hand was currently stroking Carmen's head. "How did she get hurt? Sid, is she bleeding?"

"Yeah, dude, she was…it's like, everywhere…on the floor…"

"And she's unconscious?"

"Yeah…well, she's still breathing, bu-"

"Sid!" The bark made him flinch again. "Have you phoned an ambulance? Or called for help? Or anything?" Sid let out a shaky sigh, frowning as Pooka let out a low moan. He wasn't the only one trying to wake her up.

"No…I…dude, I panicked, and I phoned you," He let out a low laugh, his palm against her cold face. "You're always the sensible one out of us stoners…"

"Sid, you need to call for help…hang up and call 9-1-1," Stacy said, the urgency in his voice shaking the boy slightly. "I'll meet you at the hospital…"

"Okay…okay…" Sid barely had time to reply before the click of Stacy hanging up reached his ears. Without bothering to put the phone back on properly, Sid gently placed Carmen's head down on the floor, giving her one last glance before screaming. "**_Help!_**"


	9. Can't Stand the Wait

360: A Dogtown Story

(a/n: So you can all kill me later if you think I've made you wait far too long for the update of this story, more or less any of my stories. But don't blame me! Blame my teachers who love to torture me with oodles and oodles of homework and culminating activities. It's all their fault anyway…you know the drill. Read it and review!)

Chapter Nine: Can't Stand the Wait

"_**Help!"**_

The clock seemed to be moving even slower than it ever did. Sid bounced his knees in his seat, his eyes scanning the room wildly. How long had he been waiting now? Half an hour? One hour? Stacy hadn't even shown up yet, and the doctor's weren't telling him anything. He knew very well how useless hospitals could be…especially when the news was bad and friends were waiting in the waiting room. His brown eyes flashed towards the counter again where the lady dressed in a white nurse's uniform was talking on a phone. Anxiously, Sid stood up from his uncomfortable chair and stumbled over to the counter. He couldn't wait any longer.

"Excuse me?" He said, his voice wavering as he stuttered. The woman looked up from the phone and nodded, holding up one finger to signify she'd be with him in one moment. Sid nodded, tucking his hair behind his ears as he waited. His hands were still shaking, and he felt as if someone was holding him down by his chest. Carmen had been so bruised, so bloodied up…he still couldn't shake that horrible feeling out of his system that he had been _too late._

"Can I help you young man?" The nurse asked. She'd set down the phone, and Sid wondered if she'd done it voluntarily or because she knew she had to.

"Um, I was just wondering about my friend? Carmen?" He took a deep breath as she glanced over to the computer flashing green words across the screen. "C-Clark. Carmen Clark?" The keyboard clicking under the nurse's fingers was making him twitch, and he let out a shaking sigh. "She uh…she came in here a while ago. Emergency-"

"The doctors are still working on her, sir," She said calmly, clicking the mouse. The screen went back to the green lettering that read 'welcome' on the screen. Vaguely, Sid chuckled in his mind. Why would they have welcome in a hospital? It was a prison within itself…anyone who thought anything less had something wrong with them. "I'm sure someone will let you know as soon as they can what's wrong with her."

"She was beat up bad, that's what's wrong with her," Sid snapped, his eyes turning down in a plea. "Isn't there anything you could tell me? I mean, is she stabl-"

"Sid!" Stacy's voice rang across the room and Sid spun around quickly, sighing in relief when he saw the blond boy walking across the room. "Where's Carmen? Have they told you anything yet?" Sid began wringing his hands as Stacy stopped short in front of him, the nurse behind the counter smiling kindly at him. "Hi."

"We are trying to get as much information on Miss Clark out as possible, sir," She repeated. "Could you please take a seat? Doctor Sherara should be out in a few moments."

"Thank you," The calmness in Stacy's voice shocked Sid into an expression of confusion, and the blond nudged him over to the seat. "What…have you ever heard of manners before Sid?"

"Hey, I know how to be polite," He said in defense, plopping back down into his seat. Stacy sat down in the seat beside him, and for the tenth time in that small period of waiting, Sid winced at the uncomfortable feeling of the chairs. "Dude…I so need a joint right now."

"Carmen's in the hospital and all you care about is weed?" Sid had been expecting that biting remark and only gave him a lopsided grin before turning his attention back to the wall in front of him. He'd started to bounce his knees again. The bright lights weren't helping the nervousness he was feeling. "How did she get hurt?"

"I told you Stacy, I don't know," Sid mumbled, snapping his head to look at him. He began to speak before stopping again. He did have a clue as to who it was that had hurt Carmen, but he didn't know how stupid it would sound. Especially to Stacy, who always managed to have common sense in tow. "I do have an idea though…"

"Well, let's hear it," A nurse passed by them with a patient in a wheelchair. He looked like he was barely alive, with bruises on his face and scars running up and down his shaved head. "Sid."

"Oh, right," He snapped back to reality as the patient was wheeled behind a door. That could be _him_ in a few months. "I think her mom might have been drunk last night when Carmen got home."

"You think her mom was the one who did that to her?" Stacy whispered, and Sid just nodded in reply. He could tell that by the look on Stacy's face he was trying to process what that meant. "Her mom? Not her step dad…"

"No, her mom, Stacy," Sid repeated. "Look, a while back, I was staying the night at Carmen's house and I noticed she had a huge bruise on her stomach. I've noticed a few scars in places too."

"You think her mom beats her?" The questions were getting on Sid's nerves, and he straightened up in his chair, his face scrunched up in annoyance.

"I know her mom beats her, she told me that she does," Stacy's blue eyes had settled into shocked a while earlier, but they suddenly closed in remorse at these words. "She gets drunk…and angry that Carmen's still around."

"But why didn't you t-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Colombino?" Sid's eyes darted from staring in concentration at Stacy to glancing hopefully at the same doctor he'd seen bring Carmen in.

"Yes sir?" He stuttered, his voice cracking. He was nervous for her and what she could be facing…what she would remember…how she would feel…all the questions he knew would probably come from this.

"Miss Clark was missing a great deal of blood, but we managed to fix that up, along with the numerous gashes she has," The Doctor said, as though his voice was an auto machine. He'd heard that tone too many times not to realize that she wouldn't be leaving here without some form of consequence. "However, she will need to be on several medications for some weeks, speak to the police about a report, and perhaps stay in the hospital over night. Tomorrow, however, she has permission to go back home."

"Thank you very much sir," Sid nodded, standing up quickly. "Could we see her?" The Doctor's eyes flashed down to Stacy's long blond hair, sun burnt face, and weather worn clothes, the usual flicker of distaste following in his eyes. That had happened when he'd seen Sid…but after hearing his last name, things had changed.

"Of course," He said stiffly before turning away from them, making his way over to the desk Sid had been standing at only moments before. Stacy had stood up beside him, wringing his hands as he nervously glanced around the waiting room.

"So? Should we go?"

……

"I look like a train wreck. Don't you dare come in," Carmen's stubborn request from her bed was ignored as Stacy and Sid quietly entered her room. They'd found the room with the help of a caring nurse after the doctor had mysteriously disappeared, and for everyone's sake had taken a small breath before they'd come in. Carmen, however, had seen them from her bedside already.

She was smiling tearfully at them, her split lip causing her eyes to cringe every time she tried to smile. Her hair was falling around her face in chestnut locks, and her face was slightly swollen, the blackening bruises on her face making her look rough. Her arms were limply sitting at her side as she sat up with the help of several pillows and the angled hospital bed, large bandages covering three places on her arms.

"You don't look too bad," Sid said cautiously before speed walking towards her. Stacy, however, stayed rooted to the ground. It had been his fault that she had been out late…that she'd had to sneak in through her window. It was his fault that she'd gotten a beating from her mother. He'd promised Sid that he wouldn't say a thing to her about her mom unless she told him. It would be better that way. "Right Stacy?"

Sid was hugging her gently and it looked as if she was trying not to cry. She was stubborn that way…and he loved that about her.

"Right," He echoed slowly, his eyes falling down to the ground as he stared at his hands. "Carmen, I'm so sorry."

"It isn't your fault Stacy," She said quietly. The softness of her voice was unusual to him…it sounded so full of pain. "You had nothing to do with it."

"I kept you out the extra hour," Stacy gasped, taking a step towards the bed, his face softening as he looked at hers. "I made you sneak back in. It's just all my fault, and I'm so sorry."

"Stacy," Her range had changed to firm and she patted the side of the bed that Sid wasn't sitting on. "Come here." Hesitantly, he walked towards her. He loved her for all it mattered, and the fact that she'd been hurt made him furious. With himself, and her bitch of a mother. "My mom was drunk. You wouldn't have been able to control that. I wasn't expecting her to be waiting in my room, and if I was, I wouldn't' have gone home."

Stacy sat down gently beside her. The light from the open window was highlighting where she'd been hit the hardest on her face. Carmen smiled wearily at him and Sid held her hand on the other side.

"Promise me you won't stay upset over this okay?" He nodded his head at her words, and he felt her brush his hand with hers. "Promise?"

"I promise Carmen," Stacy whipsered, and she smiled again. "But you can't go home, I'm not letting you. And you can't stay at Sid's cause your mom will look there first. And Tony and Jay's houses just aren't acceptable."

"So I guess that leaves your house then dude," Sid mumbled from the other side of the bed. Stacy made to agree, but the sight in front of him made him stop. Sid's head was resting on Carmen's shoulder, and her head was resting slightly on his as she stared at his own face. "Although we could always hide you in the basement Carma…I think my mom would snitch though."

"She can stay at my house," Stacy said quickly, and Sid's eyes flickered to him. He wanted Carmen more than anything did…and if that meant keeping her at his house instead of Sid's, or Jay's, or Tony's, then he would do it. "My parent's won't mind."

"Okay," Carmen nodded, letting out a sigh. "But how are we going to get my stuff? And Pooka?"

"I don't know," Sid said as he looked back to the wall. "But me and Stace will come up with something for you Carmen. For now, though, you need to rest."

"That's what everyone's been telling me lately," Carmen huffed, and Stacy watched her eyelids closing. "But I just don't feel…"

"I think she's asleep," He commented several seconds later. Even under the bruises, he could see her face at peace and her breathing steady to a slow, warm pace. "Should we go?"

"No, stay," Carmen mumbled, her eyes still closed. A smile spread over Stacy's face…so she'd been waiting to hear what they'd say? "Please…I don't feel like being here by myself anymore."

"Of course we won't leave you. Never ever again."


	10. Bank Rob a House

360: A Dogtown Story

Chapter 10: Bank Rob a House

"_Of course we won't leave you. Never ever again."_

The hospital lights were buzzing, even though they were off. It was what was keeping her awake. The droning buzz that infiltrated her ears and wouldn't give her peace. Carmen shifted to lie on her side. She'd figured out how to lie on her side without putting painful pressure on her cuts earlier this afternoon. If she lay at a certain angle, brought her arms up to her chest, and lay on her shoulder, it wasn't painful at all. In fact, it actually numbed the tingling pain in her arm.

Carmen let out a sigh, moving her hand to brush a stray hair out of her face. She was tired and exhausted, if it was possible for someone to be both. She'd learnt quickly they meant different things. If she was exhausted, she was weary of everything in her body. Tired was different…tired meant she just needed sleep. Exhausted meant she needed rest. Both two very different things. At least…that's what Carmen had most willfully decided when Stacy and Sid had left. They must have been the only people who knew she was in the hospital. No one else had come, not even Tony, who had grown quite protective over her over the short time she'd known him. And Jay…even Jay hadn't come. Carmen sighed again, but this time in pure frustration. She didn't know why it mattered so much to her that Jay hadn't come. Technically, she was unofficially with Stacy. She'd even told him that…and yet it mattered to her that he hadn't come.

Her telephone rang. The noise surprised her and with terrified eyes she turned gently onto her back, staring at the phone that was on the other side of her hospital bed. No lights were on save the dim light shining through the sheen white curtains. The noises of the hospital and the hum of the machines were singing a spooky harmony in the background of the buzzing lights and the ring of the phone. Carmen felt goosebumps run up her arms. This was always the part in the fancy horror movies that the girl got abducted or murdered…during the dead of night in an abandoned place.

What if it was her mother phoning? Phoning to yell at her, probably in a drunken slur. Or cry until she got home, and then beat her up again. Or maybe it was Ron? Maybe one of his medical friends had told him about her being in the hospital…that maybe Sonya would finally get yelled at? Or maybe it was Sid, phoning to tell her of his plan to break into her house? Reaching a shaky hand out to get the receiver, Carmen decided that it could be anyone. If it were someone worth talking to, she wouldn't hang up. If it were her mother, which was the only person she could think of not talking to, she would drop the receiver back down. She already knew how she would do this without being caught.

Carmen lifted up the hard tope phone and held it to her ear. Sure enough, the person on the other end began speaking.

"Hello? Carmen? Carmeena? Are you there?" Sid's voice was more than recognizable than her own to Carmen's ear, and she let out a relieved sigh. "You thought this was your mom, didn't you?"

"Well what do you expect? The phone rings in the middle of the night…wait a second, how did you even get this phone number?" It was almost impossible to make the nurses behind the counter budge, especially if it was in the middle of the night and you wanted to phone someone.

"I've got my connections at the hospitals around town."

"Oh…right," Carmen couldn't help but smile, even though it was painful to do so. The split lip she had gotten was from the smashed wine bottle she'd fallen on when her mother had hit her. The gashes in her arm, the broken end her mother had used to hit her. "How horrible did I look today?" She heard the hesitation in his silence, and she could almost see the grin break onto his face.

"I told you…nothing could make you look bad Carma," Carmen's eyes rolled at his comment. He told her that because she was his best friend. He loved her like a sister and more, and she knew he felt obligated to tell her that. "Stacy agreed with me on that one, so don't do your whole little huffy act."

"I wasn't!" She defended herself too quickly and Sid laughed over the phone. "Stop it…why did you phone me anyway?" He stopped laughing immediately and cleared his throat importantly, as if he was about to make a decision that would change the rest of his life.

"After much consideration, Red Dog, Stacy, Tony, Peggy, Jay, and I have decided to break into your house and get your things," Sid's voice said from the phone. "We're doing it tonight…in like, five minutes…bank robber style."

Carmen had never before in her life had a more odd phone conversation. How was it possible to rob a house bank robber style? Were they going to come in and make a lot of racket, holding water guns up to Sonya and Ron's heads? The idea was quite funny, but potentially problematic. Ron wasn't scared of stupid acts like that, and in an attempt to save his new wife, he would try to be as heroic as possible. If any one of them got caught, the cops could probably trace everything back to the Zephyr Team and the surf shop. And that would be problematic.

"Bank robber style? What do you mean by that?" She asked quietly. The only reason she wanted them to go get her stuff was because of Pooka, and the pictures of her brother and dad. That is, if her mother hadn't already burned everything.

"I mean black masks, black clothes…don't worry, we don't got any guns, and we ain't gonna make a racket," Sid reassured her, and Carmen thought for a moment he had read her thoughts. "Though it would be fun to take a gun to Sonya's head."

"Sid!" Carmen hissed. She was afraid someone was secretly listening into their conversation, just waiting to contact the Gilmore's and prepare them for a midnight raid. "Remember to get Pooka, alright? You're keeping him seeing as Stacy's mom is allergic to dogs. And my camera if you can-"

"Carmeena, you gave me a list already," Sid laughed, and she let out a defeated sigh. She was nervous as if she was the one stepping into the house and taking her stuff. They were her best friends…they would be careful, especially if Peggy was there with them. Carmen felt a lot less worried knowing that a girl would be there to pack her clothes. The thought of having Jay and Red Dog leaf through her bras and underwear made her cringe. "Don't worry about it. Oh…there's Stace. I'll phone you when the heist is complete! Or from the police station if we get caught."

"Be careful," She sighed, closing her eyes once the click of a dead tone had sounded. Now, perhaps, she could _try_ to get some sleep.

……

Sid stared up at the pipeline that would be their way into Carmen's room. It would be a lot easier if they could sneak in through the front door, but Sid already knew that that pathway was impossible. Sonya and Ron could be up at any moment…for all they knew, Sonya could be sitting in Carmen's room with another wine bottle in tow. Stacy pulled him over to the small group they'd assembled to plan the heist. Red Dog was the tallest out of them, his red hair poking out of the mask he hadn't pulled over his face. The popular bank robber mask with three holes for the eyes and mouth was what they'd dressed in, along with the darkest clothes they could come up with. Sid was the only one dressed in all black other than Peggy, but he suspected it was only because she was a girl. They were _supposed_ to have all the colours of the rainbow in their wardrobe. At least, Carmen did.

"Okay, so we go in, and look for the stuff on this list," Stacy whispered, holding up a piece of paper with four items on it. There were four items, but those items had many parts to them. The first item on the list was **Pooka**, which was the most obvious one for all of them. **Most of my clothes**, **My makeup/makeup bag**, and **My camera** followed closely behind. With the five of them, they could get her belongings and be out of there in ten minutes. Sid turned to Peggy. She had worn her hair in pigtails, but you could barely see it against her black clothing.

"Carmen asked if Peggy could be in charge of her clothes, while the rest of us handle the other stuff," He said, and she merely nodded while the rest of the boys sniggered in response. "Okay, masks on." Once the masks were on, Stacy gave everyone a quick glance before nodding towards the pipe. They'd picked an order to go up in previously, so they wouldn't make any noise going up. They made it up silently and with much relief, the window was opened. Tony had asked if Anita would open anything that was locked, but lock the door to her room. It would give them enough privacy to get everything they needed before anyone heard them. By the looks of it, Anita had fulfilled her duties.

Pooka didn't even bark when they came in, but remained curled up in a tight ball on the bed. Sid's mind angered for a moment to think of how he'd been left in here alone, but by the time that he'd collected the puppy, he had never been happier to see him.

"Hey Pook," Sid smiled, and the dog perked up in realization. The mask hid who he really was, but Sid knew Pooka would be able to tell it was him by his smell. "You can smell that weed on me, can't ya buddy?"

"Sid, shut up!" Stacy hissed from across the room. Sid snapped his attention towards the voice, grinning and sticking his thumbs up when he'd found Stacy. Long pieces of blond hair were sticking out of the bottom of his mask, and judging by the bumpy look of the masked person beside him, TA was helping him with makeup. Jay and Red Dog, the only other two male candidates, were loading up her camera gear into the large black canvas bag she used to carry it all around. Peggy was shoving clothes into a duffel bag over by her closet, not being careful at all. They had no given amount of time. One bad move could screw them all up.

"Why don't we just use the front door?" He heard Tony whispering to Stacy. Pooka had fallen asleep in his arms, and Sid held him close. He would have to be getting used to having a puppy around. Sid walked over to where the two guys were standing. It was hard to talk to someone you knew was wearing the same mask as you, but it was even harder for him when there were two people wearing the same mask.

"I agree with Tony man," Sid whispered, glancing at Stacy, although it was hard to take the situation seriously when he could barely see him. "Why wouldn't we just use the front? It's a lot easier."

Stacy let out a frustrated sigh, but the pause he let linger in was a sure sign he was considering it. Sid grinned. It really was the logical thing to do.

"Okay. Fine. But if we get caught, it's not my fault,"

Her heart beat increased as Sid moved to open the door. Truthfully, Peggy thought the entire idea of going out the front door was stupid. Anyone could be down there. Carmen's mom, her step-dad, one of the maids, or her step-grandparents for all they knew! Their next location could be at the police station filling out criminal record forms and getting their thumbprints taken. As far as skating went, she wanted to have a future. A future that would allow her to make something of her life.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" She whispered worriedly to the tall figure beside her she was sure was Red Dog. It was so hard to tell when everyone looked _exactly_ the same.

"I guess we'll find out," Peggy could only nod in reply to Red Dog as the door opened and they all walked quietly, but quickly out of the room. Staircase, bit of marble floor, and then the front door...that's all they had to go through. She held her breath and clutched the duffel bag full of Carmen's clothes in her hand. If it was anyone else they were going for, she probably would say no. But Carmen was the only girl she was actually friends with, good friends with at that, and she'd been through too much to say no to. Also, the thought of having the type of guys she was friends with going through a bunch of girl clothing was horrendously unappealing. They were halfway down the stairs when Peggy swore she heard a door open.

"Guys!" She hissed, and they all stopped to look at her. "I could have sworn I just heard a door open." They remained quiet and Peggy felt her heart beating faster again.

"I don't hear anything," Red Dog finally said, and they all nodded in agreement. She felt like sacking every one of them when they laughed quietly, making fun of _her_.

"Pegs, you just have to calm down, relax, and ch-"

"**Sonya! **Stay in your room and call the police! There's a bunch of intruders standing on the stairs!"


	11. A Dream in a Dream

360: A Dogtown Story

Chapter 11: A Dream in a Dream

_"**Sonya! **Stay in your room and call the police! There's a bunch of intruders standing on the stairs!"_

o_  
_

Carmen opened her eyes slowly, squinting when they met sunlight. Sunlight? In her hospital room? Even if the curtains were drawn and the window was open, the warm, pleasant breeze that was hitting her skin wouldn't possibly be able to get to her. She opened her eyes as wide as she possibly could, the light only getting brighter, even when she moved her head. Had they put a light over her when she was sleeping? And why was she lying flat on her back? Carmen quickly sat up, instantly regretting the dizziness that swarmed towards her head. Where was she? She was still in her hospital gown, split lip and all, but she wasn't _in_ the hospital. The sand under her bare feet and hands was almost too familiar to her touch now. She was on a beach somewhere.

_Is this some kind of joke?_ Squinting as she looked around, Carmen didn't recognize the beach as any from Santa Monica. It was too clean, orderly, and secluded to be any beach in Santa Monica. The waves were roaring and crashing into each other, a perfect aquamarine that turned sea blue to pearl white the second they tumbled over. The scent was too fresh to be any from Dogtown. Glancing along the beach to see if Sid had abducted her and taken her to a beach outside of Santa Monica, she froze. The large, circular rock cave down the beach reminded her of where that scent was from. _I'm home?_

"What?" She mumbled to herself, turning her head to the other side again. How could she possibly be home? The drive alone was several hours and Carmen was more than positive she would have woken up if anyone had come to take her. Then, just like that, she felt goosebumps run up her right arm and the unmistakable presence of another body sitting beside her. Jumping slightly as she turned to face who it was, Carmen was prepared to shout or scream but instead found her voice choked. "Jamie?"

"Hey sis," The greeting was so simple it made tears sting her eyes. This wasn't real...she was dreaming. _I wish I wasn't, I wish I wasn't._ He was sitting with his elbows on his knees that were brought up to her chest. He was wearing his favorite navy hooded sweatshirt and his favorite stripped polo shirt with khaki shorts. Exactly what he'd been wearing the night of the crash. His longish brown hair was curling around his ears and was sun dried blond. Carmen felt her stomach squirm when he turned to smile at her, his gray eyes turning up as he did. She'd always loved his eyes. "How are you holding up?"

This wasn't some sort of odd memory. No type of tainted flashback. Her brother was here, in her dream, having a conversation with her. This was the first type of dream she'd had where she wasn't losing her brother in the waves of the ocean or in her oversized house. Then it was like he was a spirit. This time, he was just a ghost.

"I'm doing alright," She said as calmly as she could, feeling tears well in her eyes. "Jamie-"

"Good. Mom did this to you, didn't she?" His hands were cold as he brushed his hand against her lip, wincing as she did. She didn't have to say anything to him. She somehow had the reassurance that he knew. "Don't worry about it. You're being taken good care of."

"How do you know all that?" Jamie smiled at her, the twinkle in his eye suggesting something she could understand. He was her twin, her second half, and more importantly, her best friend. Even if he was dead, Carmen felt stupid to ever guess his spirit still hadn't been alive in her.

"I know all. Plus, she's the only person that _could_ have hit you like that," Carmen felt her heart fall slightly. She wanted so badly to reach over and grab her brother. If she clung to him, maybe he would have no choice but to stay.

"Where's dad?" She asked quietly, glancing behind her brother's head for a hopeful glimpse of her father. She had only dreamt of him once. And it hadn't been pleasant. Jamie sighed, leaning back and lying down on the sand. Carmen looked down at her brother, trying not to frown.

"He wants to see you, he really does, but he got too...beat up in the crash," Jamie turned his head for a moment, and for the first time she saw what he had been concealing on the other side of his face. Half of his sandy brown locks were peeled away, and in their place was a large, fatal gash in his head. "I hit the side of the window when we drove into the rock. Pretty gnarly, huh? Hey...we can be gash twins!"

Her eyes were filled to the rim with tears by now, and she was trying her hardest not to frown or smile. It would hurt her split lip and possibly wake her up from this wonderfully horrible dream. Jamie's smile faltered for a moment as he studied her. She wanted to know what he was thinking, what his last thoughts had been when he knew he was in for it, and what he wanted her to know. But she knew dreams didn't give you that.

"This won't be the last time I come visit. We've still got some trauma going on in the fam life, don't we?" Carmen let out a sigh, glancing down at his fingers that had become locked with hers. How could he possibly feel this real when it was just a dream? "Don't be so sad. You know I hate it when you get like that." The effort made her laugh likely, bringing a sharp pain to her lip and tears tremble out of her eyes. He squeezed her hand.

"I miss you so much Jamie," He just grinned at her, his gray eyes shining.

"I know."

She was more than disappointed and upset when she opened her eyes from blinking to see the hospital room glaring back at her. Carmen closed her eyes, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. It looked like it was getting lighter out from the sunlight peeking through the blinds. _Jamie._ Carmen's emotions felt like a truck had hit them. To see her brother again had been like a miracle. Everything had felt so real, she could have sworn that he had taken her out of the hospital. Frowning slightly, she decided on one thing. Dreams were unfair. They liked to dangle things you couldn't have in front of your eyes then decide to end whenever they wanted to end.

Sighing, she shut her eyes again. Maybe if she fell back asleep, she could go back to the ocean at home where everything seemed to be okay.

oo

The soft feeling of someone lying down next to her was what woke Carmen up the second time that morning. She had slept a dreamless sleep, something she regretted and was thankful for at the same time. The image of her dead brother's face speaking to her was enough to haunt her for as long as she could stand. Opening her eyes tiredly, a smile made its way slowly onto her face when she saw Sid's brown eyes and grin staring back at her.

"Hi," She whispered, keeping her hands tucked carefully underneath her cheek. She'd found that to be one of the only ways she was comfortable sleeping, thanks to her new injuries courtesy of her mother. Sid's thumb brushed against her cheek gently as she remembered what had happened last night. Instantly, a stab of panic rushed to her stomach. The worry must have shown on her face because Sid's grin only got wider before he spoke.

"Don't worry! Everything is fine. We've got all your stuff all ready at Stacy's. Don't worry...Peggy put all your clothes in the drawers and stuff, so no one saw or stole anything. Tony's in the lobby waiting for us and Pooka is in the car with Stacy," He laughed, pinching the end of her nose before sitting up and hopping off the edge of the bed. Carmen stayed against her pillow, the smile still light on her face. If there was one living person in the world that was her Jamie, it was Sid Colombino more than anyone else she knew. "I brought you a change of clothes seeing as I know you don't want to leave in a hospital gown. Peggy got your unmentionables and I just picked some clothes I thought would go together. It's kind of been cold outside lately, so I packed your favorite jeans, a wife-beater tank, and I put your favorite sweatshirt of mine in there for you to keep for as long as you want to. And I promise I won't ask for it back unless I really need it. Did I forget anything important?"

"Sid," Carmen sighed, a grin on her face. She hadn't been meaning to imply he had forgotten something, but being the boy he was, the duffel bag he'd packed everything was suddenly in his hand and he was cursing out loud.

"Shit! I forgot shoes! I knew I forgot something...I should have double checked before we left Stacy's house..."

"Sid-"

"You can wear my shoes, Carma," Her smile got bigger causing the split in her lip to sting in pain, but she could have cared less about that at the moment. Right now, her best friend was balancing on one foot and glancing at her while trying to pull off one of his worn Vans sneakers. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind being in stocking feet-"

"Sid, I don't need shoes," She said bluntly, the grin still on her face when he glanced at her. "You can give me a piggy back ride until we get to Stacy's car. I'll be fine without shoes." Sid blew a long piece of blond tinged brown hair away from his face as he steadied himself back on the ground.

"Are you sure?" Carmen nodded weakly, closing her eyes lightly. "Do you need help getting up?" She opened her eyes again once she realized he was rushing to get her ready and out of here. Staring at him for a beat of silence, Sid smiled sheepishly at the attention. "What?"

"What's going on?" Carmen asked, her tone taking on an annoyed curiosity. Sid was suddenly helping her up, his arms around her waist while he didn't give her a chance to squirm out of his grasp. It was only when she almost fell onto the floor as he dragged her off the bed that Carmen snapped. "Sid! Is something wrong? Or are you just willing to put me in more pain than I already am?"

"Sorry Carma...it's just..." He let her straighten up before speaking, the look on his face reading some sort of hesitation. "Oh man...I really didn't want to be the one to tell you this...but-"

"What?" Carmen interrupted him, more than annoyed with his hesitation. Were they making her stay in the hospital for a longer time or what?

"Your mom and step-dad are on their way here."

Carmen grabbed the bag from Sid's hands and walked as quickly as she could towards the bathroom without asking questions. There was no way she could go back there in the state she was now with Sonya convincing Ron that Carmen was the one at fault for what happened.

"How did they find out? And how do you even know that they're on their way here?" She asked frantically as she pulled on her bra and underwear, sighing at the feel of actual clothes. Hospital robes had to be the most awkward and uncomfortable pieces of clothing in the entire world, especially getting up. Carmen was praying that Sid hadn't glanced at her back while she'd been running or he would have gotten quite a view.

"We made Red Dog and Peggy watches at my house to watch your house and make sure your parents didn't go anywhere. After the police left, they were fussing to get into the car while Stacy and I were at his house. Luckily Peggy called and let us know what was happening," She had her jeans and tank on by now and took Sid's sweatshirt out of the bag as she walked out of the bathroom. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

ooo

It was one thing to get a piggyback ride from Tony, Jay, or Stacy, but it was a completely different matter to get one from Sid. He had a weak frame and wasn't exactly as strong as the others were, but he managed to hold her on his back long enough to get to the lobby. The entire time they'd gone down the elevator and across the hallways had been too much for Carmen to handle. The guilt of getting a piggyback ride from her terminally ill best friend was horrible for her, but being his cheerful self, Sid had just shaken off Carmen's offers to walk barefoot and tightened his grip on her.

"Tony!" Carmen sighed in relief when she saw the curly haired Mexican boy waiting for them at the entrance to the lobby. As bright as his smile was, it was only for a second before it fell and he ran towards them. Carmen felt her stomach squirm cautiously.

"Sid, give her to me. We're gonna have to make a run for it or something. Chica, your mom and step-dude are waiting out there," She felt the blood drain from her face as Tony picked her up off of Sid's back and fastened his arms under her knees and across her back bridal style. "Sid man, take that bag! Chichi, put up your hood. That way they won't recognize you." Carmen did as she was told, glancing backwards at Sid as she did. He smiled reassuringly at her, leaning close to her face.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, studying his face. He was stark white and he looked like he was having a bit more trouble breathing than usual, something she was grateful Tony would never notice.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. We won't let them take you," He winked at her as Tony adjusted his grip on her, turning to look at Sid. Doctors were passing them and giving them odd looks, but she knew no one would stop. Not with these two in her presence.

"Okay. We run if they see us. Stacy pulled the car up," They both nodded before Tony gave a final nod and turned around and stepped forward. "Sid, do we need to do any of that hospital shit before we leave?"

"You mean like sign out? No man, I already did before I went to go see her," Carmen adjusted her grip around Tony's shoulders, letting out a shaky sigh as the brighter natural light of the sun in the lobby hit her eyes. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest it was going so fast. She absolutely couldn't go back. "Okay...we're doing good so far."

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" Carmen's eyes went wide and she buried her head in Tony's shoulder and hair, clutching her hands together. The voice was a man's, certainly not Ron's or his father's, but she had recognized it before. It might have been one of the doctors who had treated her once she had woken up from being brought there, but she would never be sure. She kept her face in Tony's shirt, determined to stay hidden. "That's a patient."

"We're just taking her home sir," Tony said as sternly as he could, his grip tightening on her. "She was being let out today."

"Carmen Clark doctor? She was in here on abuse charges. We're her designated ride home," Sid's voice broke into her ears, and it wasn't long until she heard someone gasp. A woman gasp.

"Ron! That's her..." Sonya's voice was clear to her ears and the sound made Carmen whimper into Tony's shirt. _No, no, no..._ "Ron!"

"Doctor! Doctor, they have our daughter! That's _our_ daughter! Carmen!" Ron was yelling at the doctor in front of them, and yet she didn't feel Tony start to run. She tightened her grip on his shoulders, peaking her head up at Sid. He was looking painfully between her and the doctor, trying to explain. "Carmen!"

"Go! Go!" They were running in a second, several voices yelling at them and grunts of pain being heard from behind her. Carmen poked her head up to see Sid running a step away from Tony, Ron toppled over on the floor on top of a man in a white coat who had only been trying to help.

oooo

"That was really...really...really close!" Stacy sighed for about the tenth time in the span of five minutes. Carmen rested her head on Sid's shoulder while Pooka licked her face frantically, the exhilaration of making such a quick getaway still running through her veins. As annoying as the constant feel of her puppy's tongue on her face was, she was grateful that the little dog was still alive. He had more than excitedly started to hyperventilate the second he'd seen her on Tony's back.

"I know," She sighed, her head still racing. "But we didn't get caught."

"Which is really, really good," Sid pointed out, his own breathing shallow and fast paced. Carmen had started to worry about him the second she'd hopped on his back originally. Just when she'd begun to forget about what he'd told her, he had to go and shatter that barrier. _Not that it's his fault._ "Nice running Tony."

"Gracias," Tony panted from the front seat, rolling down the window beside him. A gust of cold air flew through Stacy's small car, the impact causing Pooka to squeak in recognition. Although a round of laughter went around the car, it was strained. Carmen knew what they were all thinking. What would have happened if everything went wrong? If she was sitting in the back of Ron's convertible, hearing lecture after lecture, then coming home to find bars on her windows and a padlock on her door. She would literally be a prisoner. "So...what, chichi. Are you going to be a hermit now or something?"

"Huh?" Though she knew Tony was directing the question to her, Carmen had no idea what he was getting at. A hermit? Why would she be a hermit? Pooka had finally stopped licking her face and had focused now on settling himself in between her and Sid. His two most favorite people in the world. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they know where and who to look for. They'll figure it's in Dogtown. Your parents will probably have a search party out for you or something. What are you going to do?" Tony had turned to face her, and she caught Stacy's blue eyes staring at her in his rearview mirror. Sighing, she craned her neck to glance up at Sid.

"She can put her hair up in a hat and we'll buy her some big Jackie O's or something. You and Peggy can go out shopping and get something done to your hair. Something different enough for them to walk by you on the street with sunglasses and a hat on and not recognize you," His suggestion was good enough for her, and while the prospect of having to watch her back was taunting, the idea of getting to go shopping with Peggy was a silver lining. "You still have that money in your account, right?"

"Oh yeah," Carmen nodded her head, a smile coming onto her face. Even if Ron terminated the amount of money going into her account every month, she would have the thousands of dollars saved in her own personal account that he nor Sonya could touch. "That's a good idea."

"And you'll have to do it as soon as possible," Tony warned. "Like...tomorrow."

"We can stop by the store later and talk to Peggy about it. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to take you Carmen," Stacy's calm voice came from the drivers' seat, and Carmen felt herself smile. Although Stacy had complained about his alcoholic father, he had been the first one to offer her a place to stay when Sid's house was out of the question. "And if not, we can just trail behind you."

"But Peggy would be preferred seeing as they probably have our I.D. by now," Tony loudly interrupted, reaching forward to turn the stereo on. "Enough chit chat. Let's just get to Peralta's house before we get chased by some pigs."

ooooo

Sid and Tony had chosen to skate home in order to abandon any suspicion from their neighbours, and Carmen had been pained to endure a long goodbye with a confused Pooka. She was planning on visiting as soon as she got her disguise, but for now, it was a long night at the Peralta's house. Stacy had kindly and awkwardly helped her out of the car, obviously still worried about her _condition_.

"My parents are out of town right now, actually," Stacy mentioned as he unlocked the door to his empty house. Carmen nodded, slightly relieved that they wouldn't be here to question her. "Spur of the moment visit to the grandparents house. Of course, I couldn't go with you coming and all. They should be gone for a few days. This whole thing will have blown over by the time they get back, so don't worry about that."

"I wasn't really..." Carmen chuckled, her eyes immediately brightening when she saw the simple, cluttered décor of the Peralta residence. "Wow." Stacy, who had been busy closing the door behind her, let out a nervous laugh.

"I know it's nothing you're really used to or anything...but...it's home I guess," Quickly, Carmen shook her head, taking a cautious step forward.

"No. It's just...I haven't been in an actual _home_ since I moved to Santa Monica," She smiled lightly, trying to ignore the pain flashing in her lip. Her own home had been much like this one, only built with two stories. Simple. Cluttered. Family pictures everywhere. Mismatched furniture. Books and papers stacked on tables. Much, much like this. And that's when she remembered. "I had a dream about my brother."

"What?" Carmen hadn't meant to let her thoughts slip out, but they had, and not fazed her mind at all. "You had a dream about Jamie?" She glanced over at Stacy, his blue eyes wide and his long blond hair a slight mess around his face. Silently, Carmen nodded her head. "Oh."

"I would rather not talk about it. I'm not even sure why I brought it up," It was one of the things she hated doing most, though almost couldn't stop herself from doing. Carmen found herself speaking before she thought too often for it to be a good thing. Stacy shifted his weight and opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but she cut him off. The last thing she really wanted was for him to start asking her questions. "Where am I staying again?" He shut his mouth shyly, sending her a wobbly smile before nodding his head towards the hallway. It was tucked to the side of the TV room and was painted the same corn yellow as the walls around her were. Pictures hung here and there, and a tacky brown wood finishing lined it. As not together as it was, Carmen could not have been happier.

"It's just down here," Stacy said, taking as step towards the hallway. She followed him. "It's nothing special, but it'll suit you for however long you need it." Carmen paused mid-step, causing Stacy to pause as well. "What?"

"Stacy, I can't stay here," She said, staring him dead in the eye. His blue eyes lit up in question, and Carmen, feeling uncomfortable again, crossed her arms. "I don't know how long I'm going to need to be here. I can't put that pressure on you. What am I supposed to do? Really?" Stacy took the few steps it took for him to get to where she was standing. He rested his hands on her shoulders and waited until she was looking at him to speak.

"You're going to stay here until you can live on your own," He replied slowly. Carmen felt her stomach tumble and her cheeks grow pink. "Or at least, until we can find you somewhere to live. My parents won't care. They're never here and you'll be out with me whenever they are. I'm not going to let this screw up, Carmen." He was so reassuring, something that she was only able to find in Sid since Jamie had died.

"Okay," She nodded quietly, pausing before wrapping her arms tightly around Stacy's torso. "Thank you so much." He rested his chin on the top of her head, taking a deep breath before speaking again.

"You're right where I want you to be. Safe," The comment made Carmen blush darker than she already was, but she held onto him until she felt him loosen his grip. "Want me to show you your room?"

"Sure," Stacy let her go, long enough for her to feel the instant pang of comfort leave. Frowning slightly, Carmen followed his retreating back. She'd already caught her fancy of younger pictures of him and his family, his long blond hair a signature for him throughout the years. Carmen sighed. She felt like an intruder in a house locked with memories, even with Stacy's constant reassurance that he and his family were not close. "Oh wow."

She stopped beside Stacy at an open door, her mouth dropping slightly when she saw the room. It was a regular periwinkle blue colour, the bed a soft quilt with white sheets, but what surprised her was that everything was put away. Sid must have memorized the lay out of her room. They had copied it as best they could. Pictures were put up where they knew she would want them. Her camera equipment was strewn around the room, exactly as she had had it. The closet was small but came with a dresser. Everything seemed to be nicely tucked away leaving the room neat and homey.

"Do you like it?" Stacy's worried question made her smile and look up at him. He was eagerly peering down at her, his crystal blue eyes darting between her and the room. "You can change it if you really want to, but we tried to-"

"It's perfect," Carmen reassured him, interrupting his sentence. He only smiled brightly back at her, throwing them into a sweet silence. Breeze rattled a wind chime outside. The sun made a pattern on her bed from the curtains on the window. It took her only a few seconds to shuffle over to the bed and collapse on it. "Stace...come here." She slid over on the soft sheets to make room for him, wincing at the soft sting of the bruises and cuts she had on her arms. He seemed hesitant to reply to her, as if he felt he should be making her something to eat or leaving her to rest on her own. But that's not what she wanted.

"Uhm...okay," He walked over to the edge of the bed, staring at her for a moment before falling beside her. His blond hair fell into both of their eyes and caused them both to laugh quietly as he brushed it away. Once he had, his hand found hers gently. "Hi."

"Hi," She whispered back, feeling the butterflies in her stomach burst much like they had the first time. They stayed like this for sometime, their fingers intertwined and eyes on each other, until Stacy moved his free hand to her face. Carmen tried her hardest not to flinch when he gently touched her bruises and cuts, finally moving to her healing lip.

"Do they hurt?" It was a more than obvious question that she felt she didn't have to answer. Her eyes watered up and she tried not to start crying. She'd been doing that too much lately. Stacy's hand gently framed the side of her face, his other hand squeezing hers gently. Gently. That's how all of her friends were going to treat her now.

"Don't look at me," Carmen frowned, keeping her eyes dead on his. He didn't drop them, but only inched closer to her face. "Stacy, don't."

"Why?" Stacy had moved his entire body closer to hers while she felt the heat radiate off of her own. A salty tear rolled into her mouth and she mentally cursed herself for being so emotional. _I wish I wasn't. I wish I could just forget **everything**._

"Because of them," She prayed he would understand what she meant by _them_, and when his thumb trailed over the cut on her cheek, Carmen knew he had. "Stacy, please."

"Carmen," He whispered, his nose brushing the tip of hers. She thought she would explode from the tingling feeling running through her veins. "They're just bruises. They don't make you any less beautiful." If she knew it wouldn't hurt her, she would have bit down on her lip to stop her eyes from leaking and her voice from cracking.

"Yes, they do," Stacy let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her torso, enveloping her into him. They were so close that Carmen knew she was blushing, but she couldn't do anything to stop herself. This is what she wanted. _This_.

"No, they don't..." Stacy's lips pressed quietly onto hers, his arm adjusting the grasp he had on her. Carmen felt herself relax and wince at the same time. The cut on her lip was getting in the way, but she didn't let that stop her from wrapping her own arm around his waist. He broke off from her long enough to speak again. "They don't."


	12. Tingle of a Touch

360: A Dogtown Story

Chapter 12: Tingle of a Touch

_"No they don't... They don't."_

o

One week later Carmen was able to walk down the street with a select number of her friends. The last thing they wanted to happen was for her parents to see a new redhead walking around with a bunch of people they knew their missing daughter had been friends with. They had begun to schedule routines where she would walk with someone that wasn't Sid, Tony, or Stacy while the rest of the group trailed behind. Seemingly it was working. Carmen had begun to adjust to the new life that was forced on her necessarily. The day after she had left the hospital Peggy and Red Dog had taken her to a salon in downtown Venice. A large pair of black Jackie O's and a slouchy beanie was what she had become accustom to wearing whenever she went out. It did look ridiculous but trendy and it covered up enough of her face to give anyone walking by her serious doubts as to who she really was. But after she had visited _Dyna's Beauty Salon_ she barely needed anything to cover herself up.

Carmen had never pictured herself to be a redhead. However, when the hair stylist named Tina had taken the fluffy white towel off of her head a deep and violent red had mixed its way into her normally brown hair. After blow drying it, cutting it, and semi-curling it with some plastic rollers, it was the new her. Carmen Clark was now the scarred redhead friend of the Zephyr boys. Of course they had all been incredibly shocked when she had walked into the store later on with Peggy and Red Dog who was shouting happily about not being the only redhead. Her hair had stuck out amongst the crayon colours of the surfboards she'd been standing in between and exaggerated the natural fairness of her skin and the purple scars and bruises littering her face and neck.

But that had been six days ago. Now she was lying on her back on one of the beaches near P.O.P. with her arms and legs spread out lazily in the sand. It was beginning to cool down again, making the breeze pleasant and endurable instead of intolerable. She had ridden one of Stacy's spare bikes there with her sunglasses on and a big brown leather bag Sid had given her. Carmen had woken up to an empty house as she did every Monday and Thursday. Those were the days Stacy had a morning or noon hour shift. Usually she would walk into the living room to find Wentzel lying on the couch or Tony fixing her a breakfast. Today there had only been a note from Stacy that briefly mentioned something about a practice. In confusion she had looked at the calendar. Today was Wednesday.

"There you are Carmen," A soft voice came from somewhere to her right and above. A shadow suddenly blocked the small amount of sunlight that had been dimly shining into her face. "I had a feeling you would be somewhere around here."

"How did you know that Jayboy?" Carmen asked him as he fell into the sand next to her, sighing instead of replying. They lay in silence as the sound of the waves crashing into the shore over took them and made it comfortable. It was weird, she thought, that he of all people had found her. Stacy was probably on his way back to the house to check up on her or driving the random few people to wherever they didn't feel like skating to. He was sweet like that. Jay on the other hand claimed to have been looking for her.

"I don't know. You always come here to take pictures," Jay shrugged after a while. Only moments after that did Carmen feel his hand slide onto her stomach. "You look good with red hair." She felt her cheeks going red as she tried to sit up to put her camera into her bag. Was he stoned or something? Hadn't they already gone through the idea of them being a bad thing? "Where are you going?"

"I should probably start heading back to Stacy's. He'll be getting home there any minute-" Jay cut her off with a harsh laugh.

"What are you two married now or something?" Carmen felt her cheeks get hotter as she stared down at Jay, her hair blowing around her head in the sun. She bit down on her lip. It was a habit she had finally grown back into after the cut that had been there healed completely. "Don't go Carmen. I'm sorry. I let myself get ahead of me like always and... It won't happen again." She hesitated before lying back down onto the sand beside him, trying to get comfortable as she had been. Jay Adams tended to ruin situations more than make them but she had to give him a check for trying. "How are you doing red?"

"I'm good," Carmen answered truthfully. She wasn't completely, but she could most definitely be better. Yet in a way she felt almost happier where she was. She had her friends to rely on and was living with someone she cared very deeply for. It was her fantasy life without her brother or her father or her mother. This was her version of a fantasy life away from her disappearing family life. "I feel a lot better than I ever have since Jamie and my dad died. You guys have all done that for me."

"Eh, what can we say? We're the shit," Jay said smugly. Carmen turned to snicker at him to find he was already staring at her with a small smile on his face. "Do they hurt?" She blinked again before sighing. Downs of talking to Jay for the first time since that day: he hadn't been able to ask all the questions people usually asked. "Sorry."

"For?" Jay grimaced.

"I can tell you don't like talking about it." Carmen frowned slightly as she watched Jay watch her. His eyes were so big and brown with the sun shadowing them the way it was it seemed almost impossible to not answer him. He used his eyes as an advantage in situations like this.

"They do hurt, but not as much as they did at first," She sighed while reaching up to touch her the scratches on her face. Late at night while she lay awake from restlessness and unkempt dreams of her twin brother's mutilated face or her drunken mother smashing an empty wine bottle beside her head she memorized the exact positions of the scratches on her face. "They're starting to heal."

"You can barely see them," Jay reassured her, stretching his arm to grab the hand that was tracing her face. "Don't worry about it. You look just as good as before with them on your face." Carmen laughed again. That's what everyone had been telling her starting with Sid and now ending with Jay. Jay's thumb ran over a scratch on her hand and brought her back to reality. She let herself sigh. Though he had promised not to he was letting himself get ahead again. "So what were you doing out here all by your lonesome?" Carmen opened her mouth to reply while letting her hand drop when she paused. She had merely glanced down at Jay and caught the way the sun was highlighting his hand and smoothing out the detail of smooth skin on his bare chest. It would make a perfect picture.

"Jay, don't move," She instructed him right away. Carmen hadn't realized it at first, but this gave her a reason to let go of his hand. Reaching back for her bag Carmen pulled it onto her lap and pulled out her camera. "I'm going to take a picture of you." Instead of replying Jay merely smiled and nodded his head slightly. Twisting off the lens cap, she pushed herself back far enough from him to poise the camera next to her eye, make the frame, and press the shutter. **Click**. This time she leaned forward and into him while posing the camera far enough away from his face to fit it in the frame. **Click**. "These are going to turn out so nice."

"I'm glad you took advantage of me at that moment." He mumbled, a smirk still playing on his lips. Carmen scoffed a laugh while gently pushing her camera back into the leather bag she was using to carry her things around in. That had made the moment slightly awkward and she knew Jay would tease her about how she had sprung on him right away. Jay sat up beside her and shifted her bag from between them to behind his back.

"It was a perfect moment for a picture. I'm sorry if you're not a photographer and don't understand the beauty of something when it's just right..." Carmen looked up from staring at her hands to glance at where she thought Jay was, but instead found his face right next to hers. His deep brown eyes were flickering between her eyes and her lips hesitantly and she knew exactly what would end up coming.

"You're wrong. I totally understand that."

His nose brushed hers before he kissed her as gently as he possibly could. A rush of emotions flew through Carmen that hadn't been there the first time he had done so. That time she had been pleading with him to get off of her. This time...this time she leaned into it. _You bitch_, her voice was screaming at her. _What about Stacy? You like Stacy! Not Jay._ But for some strange reason it didn't make her stop. She let him kiss her as heavily as he wanted to and she kissed him right back. She let him push her back onto the sand and climb on top of her. She let his hands grab the sides of her face, her neck, her shoulders, and finally her hips. She let her hands circle around his back, her fingers gently locking together when they met. Carmen let Jay kiss her for what seemed like forever before stopping him.

"Jay," She sighed, his lips still on hers while she talked. He seemed to think she was egging him on for he didn't stop. "Jay seriously..." Jay finally broke off from her, leaning his chin on hers to keep himself propped up and near her face. Carmen dropped her hands.

"Stop thinking about him," He said quietly while leaning over to kiss her again. She didn't stop him, but she didn't kiss him back. "Carmen, stop thinking about Stacy." Carmen didn't speak but instead stared at Jay's brown eyes that were sparking with something she couldn't read. He came down again to kiss her hard and she lay there with closed eyes. It was no mystery to her that she had allowed this to get out of control. She had let him in the door with eagerness and now he wouldn't step back out. He couldn't understand that and she couldn't blame him.

oo

Carmen rode Stacy's bike back to the Peralta's house with a horrible feeling inside of her. She had finally been able to push Jay off of her after he had tried to unbuckle her belt. It hadn't taken her that long to grab her bag and leave as fast as she could. Unfortunately in her rush to leave she'd also forgotten her shoes. The plastic petals were bumpy underneath her bare feet but it didn't stop her from pedaling as fast as she could down the streets. She wanted to get home, crawl into bed and never leave. Finally she saw the familiar brown house sitting plainly in between two other plain houses. The aqua gray Ford was parked in the driveway and the front screen door was held open. Stacy was home.

The sounds of the radio and something sizzling flooded out of the window as Carmen pedaled into the driveway. Stepping off of the bike, her feet collided with the warm cement of the driveway that had been bathing in what there was of sunlight all day. It would probably rain tonight meaning they would be staying home while everyone else went to the Alva's house for a party. Ever since her last run in there she, Stacy, Tony, Sid, and Skip had decided it wouldn't happen again. After today Carmen was more than happy she had made that decision.

"Stace?" She called for him as she opened the wooden front door. Something that smelt like spaghetti hit her senses as she walked into the house. It appeared to be empty even with the radio on and food cooking. "Stacy?"

"Kitchen." Was all she heard him yell. Her insides turned into knots the second Carmen heard his voice. He sounded colder than usual...but he couldn't possibly know. The only people that had been at the beach were she and Jay and she knew that Jay wouldn't tell Stacy. Stacy had his back to her when she walked into the kitchen, his long blond hair cascading down his back while he stirred something.

"Hey," Carmen said quietly while trying to stick a smile on her face. He didn't turn around. The knots got tighter. "Stace?" He moved his head to glance at her quickly before turning back to the stove.

"Hmm?" She took a breath before she spoke. _He can't know. He can't know. It's impossible for him to know._ Carmen glanced at the clock above the fridge. The time glaring back surprised her: **5:31 **p.m.

"Is something wrong?" Carmen asked. The dining table beside her suddenly provided an excellent help for standing up. Stacy remained quiet. The silence was so long and so deafening that it made Carmen want to cry. Finally he moved from stirring and took the pot off the element only to merely slide it onto another one. He spoke after the click of the element being turned off.

"Who were you with today?" Stacy's question rang in her ears as she realized that he did in fact know. But who had told him? Jay? "Carmen, who were you with?" She opened her mouth then closed it, then opened and closed it again. She was fearful of telling him what he already knew and afraid to keep silent.

"Who-who told you?" She stuttered. Stacy turned around to glare at her and she saw for the first time since she had met him that he was genuinely angry. Carmen's stomach twisted violently at the glare she was receiving from Stacy's unusually cold eyes.

"Shogo came by just after I got home. He said he came from the beach. Said he thought he should tell me something that I probably wouldn't like to hear. But he said because he was my _friend_ and because he _cares_ about me he had to tell me that he saw you and Jay with your tongues in each other's mouths on the beach." Stacy spat bitterly. Carmen felt the corners of her mouth tug down. She couldn't defend herself anymore.

"Stacy, I-"

"Carmen I know Shogo wouldn't lie about something like that! And you can't lie for shit. I can see it in your eyes and in the way you came in. I just want to know why. Why you would do something like that? I thought that we'd already gone over this," Stacy was growling by now and the flush in his cheeks was something that Carmen had never seen in him before. It wasn't helping her in any way to explain herself when all Stacy was doing was reminding her of the reason she had come to live with him. "And of all people it had to be J-"

"Give me a second to explain myself Stacy!" She finally shouted, doubling in the volume that he had been using. The radio still played softly in the background and the sauce still bubbled as it began to simmer down. Stacy closed his mouth after being interrupted. "I obviously can't lie to you and tell you it didn't happen because we both know that it did. And I'm not going to lie and tell you that there wasn't something there because there was. But you have to trust me when I tell you that it didn't mean anything."

"Then what was it that was there?" Stacy asked. She crossed her arms across her chest with a frown. It had been lust and she knew it straight from there. The only hard part was telling Stacy that. "Well there you go."

"Stacy please," Carmen whimpered. The hoarseness of her voice surprised her, but she realized soon enough that it was because she was fighting the urge to cry. Her throat could not comprehend her teeth clenching and her tongue talking all at once. Yet tears were brimming in her eyes and she could feel her lungs collapsing under the weight being thrown onto her. He frowned at her expression and feeble attempts at speaking with a deep anger. She knew he felt betrayed. "I'm sor-"

"Save it." He cut her off. The frown lines on her face increased. Now she was angry. Carmen turned and walked stiffly out of the kitchen.

ooo

Stacy felt the last string of an apology snap when Carmen frowned and left the kitchen. He hadn't meant to be so cruel, so _not understanding_. He sighed while running a hand through his long blond hair. He might as well write the word **HYPOCRITE** across his forehead in big letters. One of the things he prided himself for was being understanding and kind. He never jumped to conclusions. He always gave second chances. Now he was sending the girl he liked into her room in tears because he was too angry to let her explain.

_But this time was different_, he told himself as he went back to fixing dinner. _This time you put your feelings on the line._ The sauce was still bubbling even though he'd taken it off the element several minutes ago. Behind him the radio was still playing. He didn't usually listen to the radio unless he was with Tony or Jay or in the Zephyr store. Skip always had the radio playing due to the fact that Skip hated awkward silences. These usually came when someone he couldn't rag on came into the store. While Skip loved to own a shop and loved to serve his friends (or enemies), he hated to be an accommodation for anyone looking to buy their darling little boy a new surfboard or skateboard.

The noodles were finished cooking. After working in a restaurant that made mostly pastas or dishes with noodles involved in it he had learned how to boil them to perfection within eight and a half minutes and a dab of oil. Stacy focused on draining them while he tried to ignore the presence of another person in his house. A presence he knew wouldn't just go away.

oooo

"Carmen? Dinner's ready."

The knock on her door made Carmen roll her eyes. So he was nice enough to tell her that dinner was ready but mean enough to yell at her without giving her a chance to explain herself or apologize. _Figures._

"Carmen?"

She prayed that he wouldn't open the door. Opening the door required conversation, which would only lead to awkward silence or another argument or both. _It will more than likely be both._

"Carmen? Are you in there?" Carmen pulled the sheets that she had covered herself in closer to her chest.

"I'm not hungry." The door handle clicked and creaked as Stacy opened the door. She was lying on her side facing the window that left her back towards him. Temporarily she was trying to shut him out of her life.

"You should eat something. I'm positive that you didn't eat lunch," Stacy was trying to crawl back to where he'd been before she had arrived home from the beach. _It isn't going to work._ Carmen remained silent while he stood in the doorway. "Carmen, please." She shifted slightly to adjust the blanket she'd pulled on top of herself when she'd come back into her room and refused to cry. She had refused because Stacy had become her mother for a moment. She hadn't been allowed to apologize. She had been rejected and deflated all in two words. "We're going to have to talk about this eventually."

"I already tried," Carmen muttered under her breath, though she knew she could have said it loudly. The silence that thickly coated the atmosphere allowed them to hear the other person's breathing pattern clearly. "You won't listen to me."

"I never said that I wouldn't," Stacy nipped at the end of her sentence. She closed her mouth and pursed her lips. _This should be good._ "Carmen..." His footsteps creaked against the floor boards and she felt the end of her bed sink slightly as Stacy sat down. "You didn't exactly catch me in the best of circumstances. Think about it. How would you feel if you found out that...oh I don't know...if you found out that Peggy and I were having a fling behind your back?"

"Jay and I aren't having a _fling_," Carmen corrected him bitterly. She still didn't turn to face him, but she could feel him inching towards her slowly. "It was a moment of lust. He kissed me and I didn't stop him." She clenched her hands together as sweat began to dampen her palms. It was nervousness and anger all combined into one emotion. "You know Jay." Another beat of silence.

"I know," He said quietly. At least he agreed with her on something. "You swear it meant nothing?" The slight tap of remorse, guilt, and apology tapped her on the shoulder and caused her to turn onto her other side. This was the exact same reversed position they had been in several days beforehand. Lying on her bed with Stacy, noses almost touching, looking into each other's eyes.

"Stacy I swear on my life that it meant _nothing_ to me."

His blue eyes stared at her hard for what felt like an eternity. He seemed to be thinking about something. But what? Carmen wanted nothing more than to peer inside his head and read the words running through his mind. Did he believe her? Did he take Jay's side? Or maybe it was in between? Maybe he would choose to be angry with the two of them for the rest of his life? He shifted to get up off the bed.

"Dinner's ready."

ooooo

"That was really good."

Stacy grinned at the compliment she paid him while taking her plate from the table. They'd retreated from her room in an understanding silence. Nothing more would be said about the matter. It had been lust and nothing else. Carmen felt relieved. She had hardly been able to stand Stacy angry with her for less than an hour. To think about what days would have done to her killed her mind.

"Thank you. Would you like some dessert? I got strawberry ice cream on my way here. Thought it would maybe match your hair." Carmen smiled at his comment before stretching. As much as she wanted to stay up with him, a feeling of exhaustion had swarmed her head. She hated still being tired from her troubles. She hated having to pass things up in order to try an attempt at getting sleep she knew wouldn't come to her.

"I'm tired Stace. I think I'm just going to go lie down," She watched his expression for any sign of disappointment but got nothing in return. Stacy merely nodded his head before setting the two plates he'd had in his hands into the sudsy water waiting in the sink. "I've had a long day."

"Me too," The blond nodded with a yawn. Carmen stood up from her spot at the table with as much disguise as she could. She didn't want to show anyone that she needed to grip the table with an extra bit of urgency in order to get her legs to work. "I think I might take a shower." She nodded her head while they stayed in a hesitant silence. Both knew exactly what was going to happen. "You go. I'm just going to clean up a bit in here." Stacy seemed to accept the grueling task of washing the dishes and putting away the leftovers with an air of graciousness. This was something Carmen couldn't stand to see him do.

"Stacy you look exhausted," She protested. "Let me do the dishes and you can go lie down. You've done so much for me already...it's really the least I can do for you." For a moment he looked like he would protest, but the look on her face was too determined for him to handle. Stacy took a step away from the sink and smiled at her.

"If you're sure."

"I'm positive." Carmen felt herself smile as Stacy made his way out of the kitchen slowly. Only a few seconds later she heard the floorboards outside of the bathroom creak. She let out a sigh and turned to the dishes in front of her as the pitter patter of rain drops began to sound from outside and the sound of the shower being turned on accompanied it. Behind her the radio still played.

oooooo

She put the last dish into the cupboard and closed the door while a gust of exhaustion crashed over her head. If she hadn't been tired before she cleaned the dishes, she was even more exhausted after cleaning them and putting them away. She honestly felt as if her eyelids were sliding shut on their own time. Her hand switched the radio off as she shuffled out of the kitchen. The music had long ago gotten lost as background noise to the symphony of splashes and clinks that became the soundtrack to washing the few dishes she had been left to do.

Stacy had not come out to check on her within the twenty minute span that she'd been in the kitchen. It wasn't that it bothered her to the point where it upset her. She had after all insisted he go sleep while she cleaned up. But what she had wanted was some company and with Sid at Tony's it seemed to be impossible. She realized then that it had been too long since she had last seen her best friend. The rules she now had to abide by forbade her from being with him anywhere that her parents might catch them. It was unfair that her parents still controlled her life even when she had runaway from them.

"You're finished," Stacy's voice startled her when she rounded the corner to the hallway. He was standing in the doorway of his bedroom shirtless with slightly damp hair. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's okay," Carmen tried smiling but she knew it wasn't working. An empty house with the smallest noise sent her reeling into a shaky state and made the scratches on her body itch. She knew how relatively safe she was in Dogtown at the Peralta's house, but there was still that chance. A chance that her mother and Ron had found her. A chance that she would get to the house only to find them waiting and Stacy out with the boys. "I'm just being silly." The sympathy that poured into Stacy's blue eyes made her frown and her own eyes drop to the floor.

"Carmen..." Stacy sighed as he took the necessary steps and wrapped both arms around her. "You're safe here. I promise." Carmen took a moment to capture a memory of the silky smooth warmness Stacy's skin had against hers. His damp hair was falling into her eyes, but that was the last thing she cared about. It added to the entirety of the moment. _You know what you've got to do. What he's been hoping for? _Carmen leaned back and stared up at him. He blinked before resting his forehead against hers. A brush of their noses and then he closed in on her. Warm lips against her cold lips softened the tenseness in her neck and tingled down her spine. It was almost an out of body experience as she began to push him back into his room, their lips still locked while she kicked his bedroom door shut with her foot. There couldn't be any interruptions. It would ruin the _moment_.

oooooo

**(A/N: So you guys all know what happens next...and if you don't, then just imagine. I don't know how I'm going to end this story, but I think it'll be soon. Any ideas would be much appreciated! And remember...reviews always help!**


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